PDX Transit » Technology

Ford Focus Electric Customers can Drive Green for Life

Bailey — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:01:13 +0000

Ford Motor Company and SunPower are offering a rooftop solar system option which will be sold alongside the upcoming Ford Focus EV. The “Drive Green for Life” program, as it’s being called, involves mounting solar panels on a customer’s home.

Oregon based Motorcycle Company Brammo Takes Preorders for Enertia Plus Electric Bike

Bailey — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:41:24 +0000

The Enertia Plus, is Brammo’s fifth and latest electric motorcylce and is set for delivery in 2011. The Enertia Plus’ suggested retail price is $8,995 and comes stock with a 6.0 kWh Brammo Power Lithium Ion battery pack.

According to the company’s chief executive Craig Bramscher, the Enertia Plus is a zero-emissions motorcycle that will travel 80 miles on one charge, over 60 miles per hour, and should take about 6 hours to fully power up at any electric vehicle (EV) charging station with Level 1 capabilities. By contrast, Brammo’s debut machine, the Enertia, went only 40 miles on a single charge and used 3.2 kWh Valence-branded batteries

Nissan Leaf tops the Chevy Volt with 367 MPG

Bailey — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:53:54 +0000

The Nissan Leaf is a zero emssion, plug-in electric card. It tops the Chevy Volt stagger fuel efficiency with whopping 367 MPG. Business week reports that the Leaf [will] run a 100 miles on a single charge [and] will cost no more to buy and run than a traditional gasoline-powered car. Charging time is estimated at seven hours, however a 30-minute quick charge can get batteries back up to 80% of full power.”

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/15/nissan-says-its-new-electric-car-the-leaf-gets-367-miles-per-g/

2010 will be a privitol year for alternative energy cars. The electric Nissan Leaf will be introduced late next year in the U.S., Europe and Japan plus the much anticipated Chevy volt will charge into showroom.

Read more about the Nissan Leaf and on BusinessWeek.

230 MPG!!

pdxwriter — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:27:32 +0000

If the new Chevy Volt actually hits the market next year, there will finally be a car that addresses the majority of driving styles, if not the majority of pocketbooks. With their announcement that the Volt will travel about 40 miles on a charge, many drivers will not have to buy gasoline for months at a time. Then, when you do need to go for a roadtrip, the Volt will deliver up to 230 Miles Per Gallon with a gas powered generator keeping the batteries charged. As U.S.A. Today stated (http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-08-11-chevrolet-volt_N.htm?csp=34), this may be the start of looking at cost per mile of driving rather than miles per gallon.

Does the Toyota Highlander really get 431 MPG?

pdxwriter — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:24:08 +0000

Toyota has been working on the Highlander FCV, and they claim that the latest version of the hydrogen-powered SUV (the FCV-adv) traveled for 431 miles on just one tank of compressed hydrogen.

Impressive indeed. But as Christopher DeMorro points out in an article on Gas2.org, the claim is rather misleading. Toyota merely drove 331.5 miles from Torrence, CA to San Diego and back, then they reportedly “estimated” that enough H2 remained to go another 100 miles. Hydrogen autos have come a long way in a short time, but it's a bit early to hail the Highlander as a major breakthrough. Read more at http://gas2.org/2009/08/07/hydrogen-powered-toyota-highlander-goes-431-miles-on-a-tank/

Mapping the streets of Paris by bike

Bailey — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:32:09 +0000

Its been a while since any reports of the google streetview team visiting portland, but they are cetainly making their way around the world. The google team has ditched their car for a more ecco friendly tricylce and are now visiting France.

"The riders, wearing Google tee-shirts and white helmets, are visiting well-known sites such as the Chateau de Versailles, west of Paris, the Jardin du Luxembourg on the city's Left Bank or Les Halles, in the busy center of the French capital. "

Odd looking tricyle mapping Paris streets for Google

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,537941,00.html?test=latestnews

All aboard: High-speed American passenger rails network on track

pdxwriter — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:16:24 +0000

"President Obama on Thursday highlighted his ambition for the development of high-speed passenger rail lines in at least 10 regions, expressing confidence in the future of train travel even as he acknowledged that the American rail network, compared with the rest of the world’s, remains a caboose."

Read the entire article Obama Seeks High-Speed Rail System Across U.S. from the New York Times

Toyota’s Budget electric car – Drives 80Km with no fuel

Bailey — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:08:26 +0000

Toyota FT-EV unveiled a electric car for under $20,000 that can be driven up to 80km without using a drop of petrol

Hawaii Endorses Plan for Electric Cars

Bailey — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:44:23 +0000

"The Hawaiian Electric Company on Tuesday endorsed an effort to build an alternative transportation system based on electric vehicles with swappable batteries and an “intelligent” battery recharging network."

Hawaii endorces plan for electric vehicles

Speech, a new kind of engine for Ford automobiles

Bailey — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:13:31 +0000

Ford Motor Company's Sync system is a microchip located in the dash of 21 new cars, trucks, and crossovers that delivers a fully integrated, voice-activated in-car communications and entertainment system. Sync can read incoming text messages, and accurately translate emoticons and messaging expressions such as "LOL."

Read the entire article, Ford introduces speech engine