Automotive X Prize News: Feb 18th, 2008

Project Better Place: The Future of Transportation, and Part 2. Interesting article which lays out the evolution of the car industry over the last decade and makes the case for the infrastructure that PBP is trying to build.

Driver Behaviour and PHEV vs. E-REV design. Great article about a study by GM into the the effectiveness of PHEV vs. REEV technology in saving fuel. In short, E-REV is going to save about 3x as much gasoline for a typical driving cycle. Now of course GM is not an unbiased source for this info, but I believe them: it makes sense that a more powerful electric system is going to save more gasoline. See also a long piece by Green Car Congress: To PHEV to Not to PHEV. GM-VOLT.com's Lyle did an interview with GM Line Executive Frank Weber, there are some interesting technical details about motor design, etc.

Autoblog Green did an interesting interview with Toyot'a Bob Carter and Jaycie Chitwood, they talked about Toyota's future plans in terms of hybrid's, diesels, etc. And, Toyota is reported to say "no way" we can sell more Priuses this year than last, but I actually went and read the article, and I think they really said there is no way they can achieve the same level of growth (67%) this year. All growth in sales of Prius is supply restricted, and always has been: demand is not the problem, battery production is the problem.

TRIZ to focus on Automotive X Prize. TRIZ is a "Theory of Inventive Problem Solving", I hope that they publish the results of their "live application of TRIZ on the Automotive X PRIZE competition." April 13th, near Kent, Ohio.

100 MPG at 100 MPH enclosed motorcycle now in production. It can reach 340 MPH, but it costs $3M! I mention it here because "enclosed motorcycle" is basically the design inspiration for a lot of alternative-class vehicles. The big question is: will there be a market for this kind of vehicle?

Tesla to show final design, working prototype of White Star sedan later this year. via Autoblog Green. White Star design to be revealed in Q2, prototype by the end of the year. And they have firmed up the price to between $50k and $60k. Still no word on the name though ;-). Also in the news, Tesla plans to raise $250M for the White Star, 2/3 from an IPO and 1/3 via debt. They have decided against a partnership with an OEM for the White Star, but are still considering it for their third car, codename Blue Star.

Pheonix Motorcars SUT update. They are going to start taking a few retail orders (in addition to their fleet sales of several hundred), and they are hiring! But still no news from Phoenix on what they intend to enter in the Automotive X Prize.

Triple Pundit: Video: EV4ME. Features: RAV4-EV owner, Tesla Roadster, Phoenix SUT, ZENN, Smith EVs, Plug-in Prius (CalCars and others). Check out EV4ME and sign their petition.
"Demand Electric Vehicles NOW!"
Murat Günak creates lightweight plug-in hybrid coupe, actually a REEV, 1600 lbs, 90 HP electric motor, 20 HP V2 engine. He plans to have a concept car by 2009 and wants to make 10,000 of them a year. Will he enter the Automotive X Prize?

Honda recaptures lost heat with Rankine cycle, basically adding a steam engine to grab some of the energy (13%) from the exhaust. It's old tech, but with the increase in the price of fuel, maybe it will finally be cost effective? I haven't seen any AXP teams considering this type of technology yet.