Chevy Volt Owners Write Their Own Fuel Economy Stories

Since he took delivery of his 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended-range capability in December, Mike DiPisa is averaging 231 miles per gallon of gasoline. It's because his 26-mile daily commute allows him to run almost gas free.

"I haven't filled up my Volt since I took delivery," the Lyndhurst, N.J. resident said. Of the 1,485 miles DiPisa put on his Volt, 1,391 have used using grid electricity.

DiPisa's fuel economy is on the high end of real-life experiences of early Volt owners, but it isn't that unusual.

Matt Stehouwer of Lansing, Mich., says he's getting 62 MPG after putting more than 1,500 miles on his Volt, including a drive from New York, where he took delivery of his car. He commutes about 32 miles daily from his home to his job as Technical Manager at Michigan State University's College of Natural Science.

Mike McCarver, a retiree from Los Altos, Calif., has traveled nearly 800 miles since he bought his Volt on Jan. 28, and he's averaging 93 mpg. McCarver uses his Volt to travel around town, to the local country club, and occasionally to his vacation home in Carmel about 80 miles away.

Three Volts. Three distinct fuel economy stories. Unlike most cars, where mileage differences vary slightly from driver to driver, the Volt defies conventional MPG measures because it runs approximately 35 miles on a single charge of electricity to its 16 kWh battery, and then can travel another 344 miles on an onboard gasoline-powered electric generator that seamlessly kicks in when the battery is drained.

By recharging their Volt regularly, owners are easily surpassing the 93 miles per gallon equivalence, or MPGe, on full electric operation and an overall 60 MPGe composite fuel economy during extended-range operation. The EPA ratings make the Volt the most energy efficient compact car on the market today.

"I really believe that over the long-term we have to have technology that is going to get us off fossil fuels and the Volt does that – I have the option of never buying gas again," McCarver said.

Said Volt marketing director Cristi Landy: "The Volt is great for any lifestyle and can handle the driving demands of daily life. The majority of Volt customers are finding that by recharging their cars daily they are seeing exceptional real-world fuel economy. "

Tesla Roadster Sets Off On 3000 km EV Awareness Tour

Kicking off March 16 at the Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne, Tesla Motors is embarking on a 3000-kilometer (1864 mile) promotional tour along Australia’s eastern coast. The “Oz Goes Electric” tour is being held in conjunction with local government agencies to increase electric vehicle awareness in the country.

Officials from the Victorian provincial government and Department of Transportation were present at the event, with the tour being part of the local government’s electric vehicle trial.

The tour will cover Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and feature test drive events and public displays of the Tesla Roadster along the route.

The Tesla Roadster also holds the record for distance driven on a single charge in a production electric vehicle, which was broken driving 501 kilometers (310.6 miles) in Australia. You can follow the tour here.

Source: Tesla

Suspension extended at Nissan's Leaf plant in Japan

Nissan's goal of reaching full Leaf EV production by March has suffered a set back. Nissan’s Oppama plant, currently the only site where Nissan makes its new Nissan Leaf, is one of four that will be suspended through the weekend.

Several of Nissan’s Japanese plants were to resume operations today but will instead stay suspended through at least Sunday. Nissan reported that repairs have been started at all but one of its plants in Japan, but noted complications in arranging the delivery of parts from area suppliers. Repairs have not started at Nissan’s Iwaki engine plant, as it is located in a region still beset by aftershocks.

Nissan North America again reaffirmed that domestic manufacturing is proceeding on a normal schedule, and that 70 percent of the vehicles it sells in North America are manufactured here. With an additional 50 days’ of vehicle stock on the ground or already in transit from Japanese port, Nissan North America “does not anticipate any near-term impact on sales or vehicle availability,” according to a company statement.

BMW i3 EV Spied During Cold Weather Testing [video]

The first electric vehicle to launch under the new BMW i sub-brand was once again spied during cold weather testing. BMW i3 will make its official debut in 2013, but a concept version is expected to be unveiled later this year.

At launch, Megacity will be offered in a two-door, four-seat configuration. The car will measure around 157 inches. In the future, the MCV sub-brand will include two additional models.
First one due in 2015 and dubbed ICV, short Intracity Vehicle, will be a two-door, two-seat car. In 2017, UCV – Urban Commuter Vehicle -will extend the length of the initial MCV and has four doors while hosting five people.

BMW Megacity is powered by a lithium-ion battery with 35 kWh of capacity placed below the vehicle’s floor. Rear-wheels approach remains in BMW’s philosophy and the power is sent to the rear wheels through a rear-mounted 150-hp electric motor. Driving range is expected to top at 100 miles and top speed at 95 mph.

The price of the i3 is not yet decided, but BMW sources mentioned in the past that the i3 will be above 40,000 euros in Europe.

BMW also said is looking at different channels to put these cars on the street, one of them is the Zipcar-like approach, a car sharing process more and more popular around the world.

Australia to supply Nissan Leaf components

Japanese car maker Nissan's last remaining manufacturing presence in Australia has won a $160 million contract to supply parts for electric vehicles sold around the world.

Dandenong South-based Nissan Casting Australia announced today that it has won the contract to make aluminium components used to build a range of zero-emission vehicles including the Leaf battery-electric vehicle that will also be sold here from the middle of 2012.

The company said it will invest $21 million in the Clayton casting facility to ramp up production of inverter cases, water jackets and covers, and an as-yet-unnamed fourth component for electric cars.

The investment includes a $3.3 million taxpayer handout from the now-defunct Green Car Innovation Fund that was suspended in late January as the Federal Government cut projects to pay for a series of natural disasters that struck Queensland and Victoria.

The funds also include an undisclosed contribution from a Victorian Government business assistance grant.

''By late 2013, the Nissan casting plant is expected to be producing 22,000 electric vehicle components per month,'' the car maker said in a statement.

Nissan said the components will use new casting techniques developed by the car maker, CSIRO, and the Centre for Applied Special Technology Co-operative Research Centre.

The contract will also support about 145 existing jobs at the plant.

Nissan Australia chief executive Dan Thompson said the government support was vital in attracting the investment to Australia.

''It is of major significance that the Nissan casting plant was able to fend off competitive bids from Nissan manufacturing facilities in other parts of the globe and ... from larger Nissan plants already established in Japan and China,'' he said.

''The success in winning the contracts speaks highly of the investment Nissan has made in manufacturing technology at Dandenong.''

The casting plant already produces about 6000 tonnes of components a year, with the new contract expected to expand output to more than 8500 tonnes.

About 2 million separate parts such as transmission and clutch housings, cylinder heads and oil pan assemblies are already exported to countries including Japan, Thailand, Mexico and the US, returning to Australia as components in a number of Nissan vehicles.

The factory currently employs 146 full-time and 26 casual workers.

Nissan Casting Australia was hit hard by the global financial crisis, announcing a string of redundancies in early 2009 that reduced its workforce from about 230 employees.

The company was formed in 1982 to provide engine castings to Nissan's Australian car-making operations. When local car production ended in 1991 the casting division reinvented itself as a standalone business.

Mark Webber explains F1 KERS and DRS [video]

Mark Webber explains the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) and Drag Reductions System (adjustable rear wing) that will be used in F1 this year.

In-depth review of the Tango EV [video]

The Tango EV has been around for a few years now but this is the first time we’ve seen an in-depth review of the car. Automotive technology website, Translogic, has just provided a full review of the car including insightful interviews with its creator, Rick Woodbury.

Unlike the G-Wizz, another small and very skinny electric vehicle, the Tango provides ample power with more-than-adequate acceleration. In fact, the Tango EV is able to achieve 0-100km/h in just four seconds (3.8 seconds for 0-60mph/97kph) and has previously run a quarter mile of 12.8 seconds – similar to a Tesla Roadster.

Take a look at the video above for more interesting details on how the Tango was developed, and a quick road test.