VW to Unveil New Experimental One-Seat Electric Car

[VW XL1 SEV Concept from 2011 Qatar Motor Show]

Less than 24 hours after Volkswagen lifted the wraps off the production version of the up! city car, we have news that the German company is planning to reveal a one-seat experimental electric vehicle on September 8 in Berlin, ahead of its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
VW’s chief of research, Juergen Leohold, told theThe Financial Times that the concept is designed for limited journeys, something that the company’s spokesperson, Ruth Holling, also confirmed today.
Although Leohold didn’t reveal the concept’s range or top speed, he did say that it would be “even better” than the XL1 SEV (Super Efficient Vehicle) diesel-electric plug-in hybrid (pictured above). And that’s quite an achievement, since the XL1’s average consumption was an extraordinary 261 mpg (0.9 lt/100 km).
The one-seat concept is just a showcase for VW’s future zero-emissions technology. However, the company has already confirmed that it will soon present an EV version of the Up! which, along with the electric version of the Golf, will be available to the US by 2013.
VW’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn, expects electric and hybrid vehicles to account for 3% of the company’s total sales by 2018. By then, Winterkorn has said Volkswagen aims to sell more than 10 million vehicles annually. If you do the math that comes out to 300,000 electric cars a year.

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New Cadillac ELR Converj EV Coupe

Ever since GM displayed the Cadillac Converj at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show, rumors have swirled that a production model was under consideration. But we now have official confirmation that the pure electric Converj is indeed moving forward as a production car that will be named the Cadillac ELR.
“The concept generated instant enthusiasm,” said Don Butler, vice president-Cadillac Marketing. “Like other milestone Cadillac models of the past, the ELR will offer something not otherwise present – the combination of electric propulsion with striking design and the fun of luxury coupe driving.”
The Cadillac ELR will be equipped with a similar electric propulsion system to the Chevy Volt, featuring a T-shaped lithium ion battery, an electric drive unit, and a four-cylinder engine-generator.
Like the Volt, the ELR will use electricity as its primary source of energy for motivation, with the gasoline engine generator kicking in once the batteries are depleted.
General Motors said that the development of the ELR is well underway with more details on the powertrain to be released at a later date.

“There’s no mistaking it for anything but a Cadillac, an aggressive, forward-leaning profile and proportion showcases a uniquely shaped, modern vision of a personal luxury 2+2,” said Ed Welburn, GM vice president, Global Design.
The announcement on the production of the ELR Coupe comes shortly after Cadillac confirmed the new XTS large luxury saloon and the BMW 3-Series challenging ATS compact sports sedan.
GM added that it will show a new concept model on Thursday, August 18, at a special event prior to the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

 2009 CADILLAC CONVERJ

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Audi's Urban e-Tron Minicar Concept At Frankfurt motor show

It's showtime for Audi that just released the first sketches of its Frankfurt Motor Show-bound Urban Concept a couple of days after a camouflaged prototype made a public appearance at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin Germany during a video shoot.
The official sketches show a lower and sleeker design with more futuristic styling elements than what we saw in the video footage of the car, but that's usually the case with all designer renderings.
Audi says the Urban Concept is an ultra-light car for congested urban spaces that is not based on any previous model. It is built around a central carbonfibre monocoque and rolls on massive wheels with a 21-inch diameter.
Power comes courtesy of two e-tron electric motors that draw energy from a lithium-ion battery.
A sliding canopy that forms part of the body opens up to allow the driver and one passenger to enter the car. The cockpit consists of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer, which integrates the undercarriage of both seats.
The driver is seated in front and to the left while, the passenger behind and to the right. Audi says the driver can adjust the steering wheel and pedals to his own body measurements.
More details on the Urban Concept are to be released closer to the Frankfurt Motor Show. 

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Ecclestone Says No to Electric Engines in the Pit Lane

As you may have already heard, Formula 1’s regulations have been overhauled for the 2014 season with 1.6-liter turbocharged V6s replacing the current 2.4 V8s, while te new cars will also feature a new, more powerful Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS).
The whole concept behind FIA’s proposal is that F1 cannot stay behind the times that demand lower fuel consumption and an environmentally-friendly profile.
However, Bernie Ecclestone has discovered what he believes to be a serious flaw in the proposed regulations for 2014. Ecclestone says the article 5.19, which stipulates that cars must run on electric engines alone in the pit lane with no fuel whatsoever sprayed in the V6 gasoline engine, must be crossed out because “people could be killed”.
"Formula One is absolutely not the right place to have electric engine" Ecclestone told the Daily Express.
"It's like having ballet dancers with sneakers. More comfortable, but it doesn't work. There's no way that it will be electric in the pit lane. People could be killed because they won't hear the cars coming," he added.

 

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Google's Self-Driving Car Involved in California Accident

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated in the title that this was the first accident involving a Google self-driving car. The corrected version reflects a change only in the title of this article. We also posted an updated story on the incident that includes a new video and an official statement from a Google spokesperson.

Many companies are developing self-driving cars. The latest example is VW’s TAP (Temporary Auto Pilot) that was recently demonstrated on video.
Another earlier model is Google’s automated/driverless fleet of Toyota Prius hybrids developed with the help of the military’s DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) 2007 Urban Challenge winner, Chris Urmson and Anthony Levandowski, the maker of the world’s first autonomous motorcycle (again, for DARPA) – oh, and an self-driving pizza-delivery vehicle.
The question many skeptics raise is who would be responsible in an accident involving a self-driving car. Handing over control to a machine may sound like a good idea: the car will obey speed limits, never do anything dangerous like overtaking on the right, and the streets will be safer.
However, as a recent accident in Google’s campus showed, when a Google Prius was involved in an accident, practice is a different thing from theory.
Google’s autonomous car researcher Sebastian Thrun called the system “the perfect driving machine” and said that self-driving cars can save one million lives every year –and that’ a goal worth pursuing. Google later revealed to Business Insider that one of the cars was operated by a human, the implication being that the autonomous driving system is not the culprit.
While we're not questioning Google’s statement, the issue remains: who exactly is responsible in the case of an accident involving a self-driving car? Since no two situations are ever the same, how can one rely on a computer to decide what’s best and for whom –the passengers of the car it controls, those of another vehicle, or a pedestrian?
What if the software crashes? What if there is a hardware malfunction? Even PCs, with decades of development behind them encounter such problems – which, while frustrating, are not life-and-death issues.
The thing is that Nevada has already been convinced by Google to legalize autonomous cars on the state’s freeways. And Google is using its Prius fleet in California, where legislature does not pose any bans.
But is anyone ready to guarantee that AI-driven vehicles can operate in a fail-safe way dramatically reducing accidents and casualties?

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Ford to Launch Pure-Electric Focus in New York and California

On Monday, a rumor spread over the web saying that Ford has delayed the launch of the 2012 Focus Electric in 17 of the initial 19 markets, and that the company would offer a limited number of vehicles only in California and New York by the end of the year, with the remaining markets to follow in spring of 2012.
This email from David Finnegan, Ford's electrified vehicles marketing manager, was posted on the myfocuselectric.com forum:
"For the first few months of production, we will be concentrating on California and New York. Our dealers in those areas will be the first to have their retail orders scheduled and receive the Focus Electric. We will be rolling out to the remainder of our initial markets starting in Spring 2012, including Raleigh/Durham."
On Monday Ford issued the following statement, saying that there is no delay and that the launch in California and New York first was part of the company's plan:
“Ford remains on schedule to deliver the initial Focus Electrics by the end of the year. As previously communicated to dealers, the first few months of Focus Electric production will be concentrated on delivering vehicles to California and New York. We will be rolling out to the remainder of the initial Focus Electric markets starting with production ramp up in spring 2012”.
The remaining market where the Focus EV will go on sale next Spring include: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson and Washington, D.C.

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Opel Says Second Generation Ampera Will be Cheaper

Even though deliveries of Opel’s extended-range hybrid aren’t expected to begin until early 2012, the company is already planning the successor to the Chevy Volt’s European alter-ego.
According to British magazine Autocar, the second generation of the Opel / Vauxhall Ampera is scheduled for release in 2015 and, if sources from within the company are reliable, it feature a more radical design and a lower starting price than the current model.
In the UK for example, the Vauxhall Ampera, which is already available to order, costs a rather steep £28,995 –and that is after the government’s £5,000 rebate. Opel engineers say that the battery pack alone costs around £7,000 but improvements in technology in the next four years will enable the company to reduce the cost by 50%.
However, that’s not enough. Opel CEO Nick Reilly said the price of the Ampera will be further reduced by economies of scale due to increased demand and more localized production: “We have an education job to do on the technology of the Ampera, but that will come in time. We hope that it will establish itself as a market leader and we’ll be able to capitalize on that with a cheaper, more expressively designed second generation model”.
Economies of scale could also come from fitting the Ampera’s extended-range powertrain in other Opel and Vauxhall models. If this happens, then the cost of tooling and manufacturing would drop significantly further lowering the costs.
Nevertheless, GM has to first assess sales of the model before it goes ahead with any decision, such as manufacturing its next generation in Europe, as it currently builds it alongside the Volt at its Warren, Michigan plant in the US. So far, things are looking good since 7,000 of the 10,000 units allocated for 2012 are already presold, with 75% of the sales going to fleet customers.
Opel would also like to give the next-gen Ampera a more aggressive style that will be more in line with the other models in its range.
The German firm's designers didn’t have a lot of freedom in the first generation because of the restraints forced on them by the car being a rebadged Volt. If they get the green light, the 2015 model will follow the company's new design “language” , recently previewed in the brand-new Opel Zafira Tourer.

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Toyota to Build RAV4 EV in Canada

Having cleared up the misunderstanding on whether or not the pure-electric RAV4 will be sold to the general public (it will), Toyota and partner Tesla Motors confirmed today that their jointly developed EV SUV will be built at the Japanese company’s Canadian manufacturing plant in Woodstock, Ontario starting from 2012.
“The Tesla-Toyota joint development team has agreed that building the vehicle at the Woodstock plant on the same line as the gasoline-powered RAV4, will streamline and simplify the production process and guarantee the highest level of quality control,” said Ray Tanguay, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) Chairman.
Toyota previously revealed that it will pay Tesla Motors around $100 million to supply the electric powertrain, which includes the battery, motor, gear box and power electronics for the RAV4 EV.
The maker of the Tesla Roadster will manufacture the components of the electric powertrain at its production facility in Palo Alto, California and then ship them to Canada for final assembly into the RAV4 EV.
Toyota said that the RAV4 EV will be sold through its U.S. dealerships with information on the precise launch date and pricing to be announced at "a later time".

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Fisker will Unveil New Crossover Model at Frankfurt Motor Show

The man behind the Karma extended-range electric sports sedan, company boss Henrik Fisker, revealed some ambitious new plans to develop the brand's lineup during the European launch of the saloon model.
According to one report from British magazine What Car?, Fisker confirmed the development of a new crossover that will combine elements from sporty estate and SUV models, and which will be revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show in September before it allegedly reaches showrooms in 2012.
No other details were given about the crossover, but we reckon it will most likely be shown in pre-production form.
Aside from the Karma and the as of yet unnamed crossover, Fisker is also said to be working on the production version of the 2009 Karma S coupe-convertible (pictured in our gallery) and a smaller and more practical model called the Nina, both of which are due to enter production in 2013.
In addition, Fisker said that the company has plans for a four-wheel drive version of the Karma as well as a new two-speed transmission designed to improve fuel economy and offer a higher top speed.

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