Microturbine Powered Hybrid Supercar with 770 horsepower announced

Capstone today announced that Velozzi, a Los Angeles-based car designer and manufacturer, will become the first auto company to integrate Capstone's ultra-clean C65 and C30 microturbines into a electric supercar.

Velozzi vehicles are the first production cars to be constructed with carbon fiber Nano tubes. Carbon Nano tubes increase the mechanical properties of vehicle components by 40 percent, which improves the performance of each part while reducing the vehicle's overall weight. Most materials used in the Velozzi cars are reusable, which decreases the Velozzi vehicles' overall carbon footprint.

The company has teamed with several world-class OEM suppliers, including Bayer, Bosch, PPG, Nanoledge, Camoplast, Pirelli, Visteon, Worwag, Bradford Industries, Henkel, Ashland, Saminco and Syvex.

"The first electric supercar with a 65-kilowatt microturbine will be available in late 2010. The SOLO crossover, featuring a 30-kilowatt Capstone microturbine, will be available in 2011," stated Velozzi CEO, Roberto Velozzi. "The selling price for both vehicles is to be determined," added Velozzi.

The Velozzi Supercar will be powered by a 770-horsepower AC-induction electric motor charged by an on-board Capstone C65 microturbine. The supercar is designed to accelerate from 0-60mph in just three seconds and reach a top speed of over 200 mph, according to Velozzi.

The SOLO will be a lightweight electric crossover with an on-board 30-kilowatt Capstone microturbine that will charge the crossover's batteries and super capacitors while in operation or at rest.

"Velozzi has included microturbines in their car designs since the company's inception," said Jim Crouse, Capstone's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "It's an extremely progressive company committed to producing environmentally friendly, powerful and practical electric vehicles. With a Capstone microturbine, they'll ensure drivers have the range and reliability to drive a Velozzi anywhere."

Current plug-in electric vehicle driving ranges are extremely short between battery charges. A microturbine dramatically extends the driving range of the vehicle. According to Velozzi their cars will operate on 100 percent battery power in zero-emissions mode for a range of up to 200 miles. Then, when the batteries reach a pre-determined state of discharge, the Capstone microturbine quietly and efficiently recharges the batteries on the fly to extend the driving range up to 1,000 miles.

The diesel-fueled Capstone microturbine produces ultra-low emissions and requires less maintenance than the traditional combustion engine found in today's hybrid-electric vehicles. Capstone microturbines can run on diesel, bio-diesel, ethanol, methanol, jet fuel, propane and compressed natural gas. Capstone was recently awarded a Department of Energy grant to develop a flex fuel turbine that will operate on agricultural syngas and hydrogen.

"Capstone's fuel system gives the driver the flexibility to use a multitude of energy sources available today and in the future," Velozzi said. "You don't have to wait years for plug-in infrastructure or a new fuel infrastructure to be developed to charge or power Velozzi vehicles because our vehicles can use many fuels available today," added Velozzi.

"Capstone's strategy is to provide microturbine solutions today based on our current industrial product that automotive, truck and bus manufacturers can immediately integrate into their electric vehicles while simultaneously collaborating with key automotive component manufacturers to build a high volume, lower cost automotive version of our products," said Capstone President and CEO, Darren Jamison.

"When I met with Roberto at the Los Angeles Auto Show and learned more about his company, it was clear Velozzi would be an excellent manufacturer to integrate our C65 and C30 into its automobiles. The company truly cares about developing top-of-the-line electric cars that are environmentally friendly, powerful and attractive that can benefit from utilizing Capstone's microturbine technology as an onboard range extender," added Jamison.

Toyota says Prius had brake design problems

Toyota acknowledged design problems with the brakes in its prized Prius, adding to the catalog of woes for the Japanese automaker as it reels from massive gas-pedal recalls in the U.S.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it found design problems with the antilock brake system and corrected them for Prius models sold since late January, including those being shipped overseas.

But the company said it was still investigating how to inform customers who had bought them earlier. Nothing was decided on that front for Prius gas-electric hybrids sold outside Japan, according to Toyota.

Complaints about braking problems in the Prius — the world's top-selling hybrid — have been reported in the U.S. and Japan, combining to some 180, and come amid a global recall of nearly 4.5 million vehicles for faulty gas pedals.

"We are investigating whether there are defects in the Prius," Toyota executive Hiroyuki Yokoyama told reporters at the automaker's Tokyo headquarters.

Paul Nolasco, a company spokesman, said the time lag for brakes kicking in felt by drivers stem from the two systems in a gas-electric hybrid — the gas-engine and the electric motor.

When the car moves on a bumpy or slippery surface, a driver can feel a pause in the braking when the vehicle switches between the traditional hydraulic brakes and the electronically operated braking system, he said.

The brakes start to work if the driver keeps pushing the pedal, but the driver may momentarily feel they aren't working, he said. Fixing that included a software programming change, he said.

Whether a recall was in the works for the Prius is still undecided, according to Toyota, but the transport minister urged the company to consider it and is ordering an investigation.

A major Toyota dealership in Tokyo said the automaker had informed dealers that Prius brakes can sometimes fail to work for less than a second but it had not told owners.

"It is disappointing because the Prius was receiving such rave reviews," said Hiroyuki Naito, a manager at the dealership. The latest model Prius hit showrooms last May and is only made in Japan.

In recent weeks, the automaker had answered questions about its overseas recalls for gas pedals with assurances that problems didn't extend to Japanese vehicles, implying it was doing a better job with quality control in Japan.

But Prius owners were worried.

Akira Suzuki, 25, who makes surf boards and teaches surfing, was excited about the high mileage his recently purchased hybrid offers — but concerned about its possible problems.

"I'm not sure how safe it is. I plan to drive very carefully," said Suzuki, who lives in a Tokyo suburb.

Despite snowballing problems with quality, Toyota reported Thursday a $1.7 billion profit for the October-December quarter, citing healthy sales of its green models including the Prius, and predicted it would return to profit for the fiscal year through March.

Toyota shares tumbled on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, falling 3.5 percent to close at 3,280 yen ($36) after plunging 5.7 percent the previous day. Since Jan. 21, when the U.S. recalls were announced, the stock has lost about 22 percent.

Earlier in Washington, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood startled the public with a comment, which he later retracted, that Americans should park their recalled Toyotas unless driving to dealers for accelerator repairs.

The Prius was not part of the recall spanning the U.S., Europe and China over sticking gas pedals in eight top-selling models including the Camry. That recall involved 2.3 million cars in the U.S. alone.

Toyota senior managing director Takahiko Ijichi defended the automaker's quality standards.

"We have not sacrificed the quality for the sake of saving costs," he said. "Quality is our lifeline. We want our customers to feel safe and regain their trust as soon as possible."

Toyota for the first time gave an estimate of the costs of the global gas-pedal recall. The $2 billion total represents $1.1 billion for repairs and $770 million to $880 million in lost sales.

Toyota is expecting to lose 100,000 in vehicle sales because of the recall fallout — 80,000 of them in North America.

The tarnishing of the Prius nameplate is also a serious setback for Toyota's recovery from the global auto slump.

"It's very unclear what the future will bring," said Mamoru Katou, auto analyst with Tokai Tokyo Research. "Toyota's image as a leader in hybrids has been hurt."

The automaker has received 77 complaints in Japan about braking problems for the Prius. Separately, the Japanese government confirmed 14 complaints. About 100 complaints over Prius brakes have been filed in the U.S.

At least one accident has been reported in Japan suspected of being linked to faulty braking. In that accident, in July 2009, a Prius crashed head on into another car, slightly injuring two people, according to the transport ministry.

Toyota had looked into that accident and concluded there were no problems with the Prius.

In the U.S., harried dealers began receiving parts to repair defective gas pedals in millions of vehicles and said they'd be extending their hours deep into the night to try and catch up. Toyota said that would solve the problem — which it said was extremely rare — of cars unaccountably accelerating.

Toyota is set to face additional questioning from U.S. congressional and other government investigators. Toyota has shut down several new vehicle assembly lines and is rushing parts to dealers to fix problems with the accelerators, trying to preserve a reputation of building safe, durable vehicles.

The latest recall involves 2009-10 RAV4 crossovers, 2009-10 Corollas, 2009-10 Matrix hatchbacks, 2005-10 Avalons, 2007-10 Camrys, 2010 Highlander crossovers, 2007-10 Tundra pickups and 2008-10 Sequoia SUVs.

U.S. lawmakers who are now digging into the recalls say they would look into the Prius.

Many consumer groups have questioned whether Toyota's gas pedal fix will work and have asserted it could be connected to problems with the electronic throttle control systems.

Yasuaki Iwamoto, auto analyst with Okasan Securities in Tokyo, said the big challenge for Toyota was rebuilding its damaged brand, especially in overseas markets.

"For all people who own Toyota cars, for all people with jobs related to Toyota, this huge sense of uncertainty simply isn't going away," he said.

Jaguar Built a Series Hybrid XJ limousine

A series hybrid version of the new Jaguar XJ has been created in reaction to the emergence of zero-carbon zones in cities across the globe.

Jaguar Land Rover envisages some of the world’s most important cities gradually introducing zero-emissions and zero-pollution zones. All vehicles unable to run purely on batteries would be banned from the area.

According to the insiders, only a self-charging electric car could have sufficient zero-emissions range to be practical transport in such scenarios. Although some conventional hybrids do have the ability to run purely on battery power, their electric-only range is limited to few miles.

It’s thought that the electric XJ will be powered by a 145kW, 295lb ft electric motor fuelled by a lithium ion battery pack. The batteries will be topped up by a 35kW, 1.2-litre, three-cylinder generator designed by Lotus specifically for self-charging electric vehicles.

This drivetrain is claimed to offer a range of 600 miles, plus combined fuel economy of 57mpg, sub-120g/km of CO2 and a top speed of 112mph.

Jaguar sources also say that the handling and performance of the electric XJ is likely to surprise people “because of the bulk that’s removed from car when you strip out the conventional drivetrain”.

If, as many expect, future Range Rover models are based on the same floor and crash structure as the new X351-series XJ, the same technology could be applied to the company’s SUVs.

Jaguar and Lotus are now developing the technology with financial help from the British government’s Technology Strategy Board.

Lord Drayson, the Minister of Science, said last year that electric cars would play a “huge part in the future of motoring in this country”.

Tesla Hires Toyota Manufacturing Expert

Tesla Motors announced today that former Toyota production engineering general manager Gilbert Passin will lead Tesla's vehicle manufacturing operations.

Passin brings 23 years of international automotive experience to Tesla. He has led some of the most high-profile divisions at Toyota, Volvo, Mack and projects at Renault across North America and Europe. Most recently, Passin served as general manager of production engineering for Toyota in North America. In spite of the recent recall, Toyota’s manufacturing production process continues to be regarded as one of the most efficient in automotive assembly.

Previously, Passin was vice president of manufacturing at Toyota's plant in Cambridge, Ontario. The award-winning plant produces over 200,000 automobiles per year and is the only Toyota site to produce a Lexus vehicle outside of Japan. It has won accolades from JD Power and is considered one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers." Passin was instrumental in the manufacturing planning and launch of the best-selling Lexus RX luxury SUV. He also launched manufacturing of the award-winning tenth generation Corolla, one of the most popular automotive models worldwide.

"Gilbert’s proven ability to successfully develop and produce quality vehicles at the world's top automakers makes him a critical addition to Tesla as we build our production capacity, particularly with respect to manufacturing the planned Model S sedan," said Tesla CEO Elon Musk. "He will also help us recruit the best and the brightest employees for our California manufacturing team."

Tesla is the only company to commercially produce highway-capable electric cars. The company has produced 1,000 cars and has customers in 18 countries worldwide.

During his time with Mack, Passin played a key role in transferring the production of highway trucks to Volvo's Virginia facility. At the Volvo facility, Passin successfully consolidated the production of Volvo and Mack trucks while increasing the production rate and improving quality and productivity.

Passin has a degree in Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Paris. He has also taught Dynamics and 3D Mechanics in the School of Engineering at the University of Bath, U.K.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the exciting automaker and help launch its manufacturing operations," Passin said. "I hope to help Tesla set new standards for environmental efficiency, product quality and employee happiness, and I am eagerly anticipating building our team."

Chinese electric car for Australia

Vehicle importer Ateco Automotive plans to have an electric car on sale in Australia by 2011.

A Chinese electric car looks set to go on sale in Australia by next year, likely to join Mitsubishi and Nissan in the race for emissions free motoring.

The Australian importer of Chinese brands Great Wall Motors and Chery, Ateco, says it expects to be selling an electric car here by 2011.

"I think we'll have an electric car in 011 - I can't comment any further," says Ateco governing director Neville Crichton, refusing to reveal details or even suggest which brand it would be sold by.

"I'll be surprised if the Chinese makers don't come out with an electric car in a very short period of time." Mitsubishi plans to sell a limited number of its iMiEV electric cars in Australia this year, building up to more meaningful volumes over the next few years.

Nissan also wants to sell its Leaf electric car in Australia by 2012.

Toyota is also working on a plug-in electric version of its Prius, while Holden is planning to sell the Volt plug-in in Australia from 2012.

Crichton says Ateco has "been working quite closely with the government with the facilities for electric cars over the last 18 months and we want to be in that business".

It's not known which Chinese brand is likely to have the electric car on sale, with most testing or expressing an interest in developing electric vehicles.

Crichton confirmed Ateco would begin selling the Chery brand in Australia from mid-2009, joining the GWM models currently on sale here.

However, there could be options beyond Ateco's existing two Chinese brands.

Chinese maker BYD - currently in negotiations with unnamed Australian importers about selling the brand here - wants to lead the global electric car charge.

Backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, BYD has aspirations of becoming the world's largest car maker by 2025 and wants to lead sales of electric cars.

BYD unveiled an electric car concept at the Detroit motor show last month and plans to begin selling a production version soon.

Crichton has never mentioned BYD but admits he is always negotiating on other brands, including at least one from India.

Crichton refuses to speculate on pricing for the upcoming Chinese electric car, but says it will be competitive, making it an attractive proposition for city commuters.

"Anyone wants to get in to the marketplace properly it's got to be priced right," says Crichton.

"I don't think the electric cars that will come in initially ... won't be twice the price of an electric car."

He named the diminutive two-seater Smart car as one that was overpriced "for what it is", leading to niche sales levels.

Right Hand Drive Tesla Roadster now on sale

Tesla’s all-electric Roadster is now available in right-hand drive.

The Tesla Roadster right-hand drive features a few improvements over previous left-hand models including a new sound system and new noise-reduction materials.

Cristiano Carlutti, Tesla's Vice President for European sales and operations, said there had been strong interest from UK customers for a right-hand drive model.

"The right-hand-drive model is our response to growing demand from high-performance car buyers in the UK who are also interested in their impact on the environment,” he said.

"Tesla is dramatically expanding its retail footprint in Europe, we look forward to building our community of owners and fans throughout the continent."

The model is available now from Tesla’s Knightsbridge showroom in London and is priced from £86,950.

Toyota ordered to investigate Prius brake fault

Toyota today suffered a fresh blow to its reputation as it emerged that the carmaker has been ordered by the Japanese government to investigate claims of brake system failures on its newest model of Prius hybrid.

As the company races to minimize the damage of problems with “sticky” accelerator pedals and massive global recalls, The Times has learned that Toyota is currently conducting an internal probe into reports of intermittent brake failures on its 2010 Priuses.

Under direct instructions from the Japanese Land and Transport Ministry, Toyota is examining 13 instances that have arisen since December 2009 where the brakes have failed on new Priuses sold in Japan and the United States.

A Toyota spokesperson admitted that the frequency of complaints arising from the same component in the same model of car was “greater than usual.”

The brake problems come on top of the worst public relations disaster in Toyota’s recent history – it has been forced to recall millions of cars due to faulty accelerator pedals.

Last August, a family of four in the US died after a Toyota Lexus apparently accelerated out of control. The Lexus model has not been involved in any of the recalls.

The Prius, a hybrid petrol and electric car, is a favourite of Hollywood’s green elite, with Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio both owners of the model.

Apple co-founder and a Toyota Prius owner, Steve Wozniak, has weighed into the spiraling safety crisis that has engulfed the Japanese automaker, with a suggestion that “unintended acceleration” problems may be caused by faulty software.

Mr Wozniak comments hint that, despite Toyota’s massive recall, the accelerator issues may be far from over.

Interviewed on American television last night, Mr Wozniak said that the 2010 model Prius he drives had occasionally accelerated unexpectedly – and “scarily” after he used the cruise control buttons to adjust his speed.

“Since my foot never touches the pedal,” Wozniak told ABC News, the problem “cannot be a sticky accelerator pedal.... There might be some bad software in there.”

At a separate forum he wondered aloud whether the software bug that caused random acceleration in his Prius might also be lurking in the software of other Priuses “and related to the deadly problem”.

He said that he had had trouble persuading both Toyota and the US government safety agency to listen to his complaints.

In a hasty bid claw back some advantage, Toyota said last night that it would be borrowing Mr Wozniak’s car for a week to diagnose the problem.

The Nagoya-based company has been accused of dithering over the decision to initiate a recall.

The company is increasingly faced with suggestions that it deliberately downplayed the seriousness of faults that have been linked to a number of accidents around the world, some of them fatal.

“While Toyota is taking responsible action now, it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point,” said US transportation secretary Ray LaHood.

Despite speculation that the accelerator problems may be electronic rather than purely mechanical, Toyota has publicly ruled that out as a cause of the sticky accelerators.

But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US is continuing to investigate the throttle control system for possible bugs. Of the 15 US-based lawsuits filed against Toyota over the acceleration issue, seven of them claim that the problem arises from the ETCS-i throttle system rather than mechanical faults with the pedals.

More than 7 million vehicles have been recalled across five continents in a campaign that crisis management experts have described as ham-fisted. Company insiders describe internal rows over whether Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, should appear in public to reassure customers. Since the recalls began, Mr Toyoda, the grandson of the founder, has made only one 75-second appearance in front of a single Japanese news crew at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Financial analysts have begun building the potential costs of the recall, which now include possible fines that could be imposed by the US government. In a note to investors, Deutsche Bank’s Kurt Sanger said that the costs for repairing existing models and suspending production could amount to over Y100 billion.