NISSAN LEAF NISMO RC Test: On-board Cam [video]

On-board camera of all-electric racer under development "NISSAN LEAF NISMO RC" driven by Tsugio Matsuda. Filmed on 6 June 2011 at Sodegaura Forest Raceway.

Fully Charged Episode 21 Solar PV [video]

Robert Llewellyn follows the installation process of his photovoltaic panels and demonstrates how cutting edge he is by using his solar system to charge his Nissan Leaf.

Toyota to raise Prius hybrid wagon output [video]

Toyota plans to increase monthly production of its Prius hybrid wagon to 70 percent above its initial target by around August or September, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Orders have been coming in faster than expected since Prius Alpha, the first of an extended family of Prius models planned by Toyota, made its debut May 13, the paper said.

Toyota will boost output to 5,000 vehicles per month from 3,000, the Nikkei reported, to shorten customer waiting time. The wagon comes in a two-row, five-seat version and a three-row, seven-seat version.

A company spokesman declined to comment on the report.

Toyota first unveiled the extended Prius family at the Detroit auto show in January, announcing plans to begin selling the five-seat version, to be called the Prius v in North America, this summer. The three-row model will go on sale in Europe in mid-2012, under the name Prius+.

Toyota, the pioneer in hybrid technology, has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid vehicles globally a year by mid-decade. It plans to offer the hybrid option across its entire line-up by 2020.

0-60mph in 1.6 seconds - electric-powered VW Beetle drag racer [video]

Brothers Sam and Oliver Young made it into electric drag racing history at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK with their 725 kg (1600lb) electric VW bug, "Black Current."

Sam piloted Black Current to a 9.82 @ 132.22 mph run followed by a 9.51 time at 135.65 mph. This makes the speedy electric bug the "World's First Street-Bodied Electric Car" to break into the 9's. A significant historic event for EVs and electric drag racing history.

The current running through Black Current;'s DC motors is provided by FlightPower Lithium Polymer EVO Ultra Nano batteries which have thicker innerconnects then regular RC batteries to handle the extra current.!

Nissan and JAF to Test Roadside Service Vehicle With EV Charger

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) today announced a joint trial operation of a roadside service vehicle equipped with a charger to assist electric vehicles (EVs) which run out of battery power. The trial service commences on June 7, 2011.

Nissan is taking part in a technology development project for measures to counteract global warming that was launched by Japan's Ministry of the Environment and aimed at promoting green innovation. In line with this effort, Nissan developed a prototype roadside service vehicle equipped with a charging system for EVs which become inoperable. JAF will deploy the roadside service vehicle with the charger from its Kanagawa branch office and will use it on a trial basis as part of their service menu from fiscal year 2011. This trial project will be a valuable first step as Nissan and JAF move forward in promoting the real-world use of this type of roadside vehicle, intended to create a safety net and render assistance to EVs which may run out battery power, and to help stranded motorists.

In December 2010, JAF conducted roadside assistance training for EVs using a Nissan LEAF, including towing, at the Nissan Education Center for its staff from throughout Japan. JAF also initiated related practical roadside service training across Japan using other EVs in cooperation with other automakers.

Hitoshi Kawaguchi, Nissan's senior vice president of External and Governmental Affairs, said, "As EVs gain wider consumer acceptance, it is important to create a roadside assistance system that can help motorists driving EVs which have run out of battery power, as well as to build a charging infrastructure. Nissan is leveraging the development and trial operation of this roadside service vehicle with charging equipment – and the accompanying staff training – to strengthen cooperation with JAF and to benefit customers. This will build confidence in EV use and contribute toward achieving a society with low carbon emissions."

Masakazu Kume, Executive Director, Japan Automobile Federation, said, "JAF has been working on ways to create an environment where motorists can drive EVs with the assurance that assistance is available and to support the adoption of environmentally-friendly EVs as part of our social contribution activities. Our participation in this trial operation is one of these activities. We have already prepared insulated gloves and goggles for our service vehicle staff to assist EVs. We will actively respond to requests from EV motorists as more and more EVs hit the road."

LE MANS: Hope Hybrid Set For History-Making Debut

While the Panoz Q9 nearly became the first hybrid to run at Le Mans back in pre-qualifying in 1998, it appears the history books will finally be re-written this weekend when Hope Racing’s Oreca Swiss HyTech Hybrid takes to the track for Saturday’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Thirteen years after the revolutionary, but overweight “Sparky” failed to qualify for the French classic, the Swiss-based team, led by co-owners Benoit Morand and Jean-Marie Brulhart, have ticked all of the necessary boxes required to make the history-making debut, although it all came down to the wire, quite literally.

With the car having been withdrawn from the second Intercontinental Le Mans Cup round at Spa due to a vibration that affected its Flybrid-built hybrid, Hope was given until May 20 to get its car certified by the ACO, otherwise face expulsion from the the race.

In order to be certified, the Oreca 01, powered by a 2.0-liter Lehmann four-cylinder turbo, needed to complete the entire length of the Le Mans pit lane (400 meters) entirely on KERS. Sure enough, the test was scheduled for May 20, the final day in the ACO’s deadline, at the Lurcy-Levis circuit in France.

“It was almost something from the movies, the way it happened,” technical director Andrew Sayer said. “The ACO arrived at about 4 p.m. in bright sunshine, as it was for the two days. Michelin left, taking all the wet tires with them, but then a couple of dark clouds started appearing. As we’re discussing with the ACO and showing them around the system, big spots of rain started to come down.

“Obviously I was panicking. [Team co-owner Benoit Morand] runs in and says, ‘Can we go now?’ There was a motorbike track day going on at the same time, so they stopped half an hour early for us. We pushed the car out to the straight line and marked out [the distance points] with the ACO. We then did our engine charge... Steve [Zacchia] then pulled away and stalled it, the first time he did that in the last six days of testing!

“He pulled up to 60 kph, cut the engine before the first cone, ended up driving 463 meters on the KERS. Steve then started the engine back up, turned around and came back to us. We put the umbrella over him to keep him cool. By the time we connected the computer to download the data, it was raining so hard that we had to take the umbrella off Steve and push back to the garage immediately!

“Literally, five minutes after we had done the test [the rains came].. We had one shot and we did it in one shot. We couldn’t have done it again anyway because the rain was so bad!”

While it was no doubt a close call to making it into Le Mans, Sayer says the original problem, the natural vibration of the internal combustion powerplant that caused a resonance issue with the hybrid, has been alleviated by going with a different sized flywheel and modifying the engine insulation.

And with two further days of testing in the books at Magny-Cours, where all three of its drivers, Steve Zacchia, Casper Elgaard and Le Mans veteran Jan Lammers, who will be making his 22nd start at Le Mans, racked up a total of 750 kilometers, the team is hopeful of making a solid debut run.

“We’re happy with the performance of the car as it stands at the current moment,” Sayer said. “We know there’s more to come, but I think we’re definitely looking for a finish because having something that’s so new, to be able to finish the race would be amazing.”

Nissan Says U.S. Electric Leaf Sales May Reach 12,000 in 2011

Nissan Motor Co., aiming to be the world’s largest seller of electric cars, expects to deliver as many as 12,000 battery-powered Leaf hatchbacks to U.S. customers this year as orders are confirmed and production quickens.

Japan’s second-largest carmaker sold 1,142 Leafs in the U.S. last month, the most since it began shipping them in December. Deliveries should continue at that pace, totaling between 10,000 and 12,000 by the end of the year, Al Castignetti, Nissan’s vice president of U.S. sales, said in an interview yesterday.

“That’s a reasonable figure,” Castignetti said. “We’re very positive about this program. It’s different than anything we’ve ever done, launching the car in three global markets at the same time. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Nissan and its partner Renault SA, has positioned Nissan to meet demand for electric cars that he expects to account for 10 percent of global auto sales by 2020. In the U.S., Leaf deliveries began at a trickle, averaging just 113 units a month from December through March, before accelerating in April and May.

Nissan took 20,000 reservations from U.S. customers last year for the compact, rated in the U.S. as going from 62 miles to more than 100 miles when its lithium-ion battery pack is fully charged. With a base price of about $33,000 before a federal tax credit, the Leaf is the first mass-market electric car sold in the U.S.

Battery Factory

The initial reservation figure ultimately shrank to 11,000 firm orders, said Katherine Zachary, a spokeswoman for Nissan. Nissan began taking Leaf reservations again in May, which require a $99 deposit, and has secured about 1,000 additional orders, she said.

“Reservations are going pretty good,” Castignetti said. Sales of the car will jump after Nissan’s battery factory, being built next to its main North American plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, opens in 2012, he said.

Leaf sales total 2,167 through May. By comparison, General Motors Co. (GM) has sold 2,184 units of its Volt plug-in car this year. Nissan’s North American unit is based in Franklin, Tennessee.