Will 2010 be the Year of the Green Car?

It seems like the next generation of green(er) cars will be with us soon. A slew of announcements for plug-in hybrids and electric car all show the same time stamp: 2010.

Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has recently announced at a shareholder meeting that he is really into green cars and that he wants Nissan to become a leader in "mass-marketing zero-emission vehicles". He has announced that Nissan would introduce an electric car in the US and Japan in 2010, with global mass-production in 2012.

Next in 2010 is the Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid that should have an all-electric range of 40 miles before the gas engine kicks in. This would mean that if you drive less than 40 miles in a day, you don't burn a drop of gasoline. The Volt might end up costing a bit more than was originally planned, but according to the latest news, it is still on track to be commercialized.

Mercedes also recently announced a bold plan to have its whole car lineup be "petroleum free" by 2015. To achieve that, they are focusing on electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells, and biofuels. Mercedes also announced that it would have an electric car by 2010.

Daimler, which owns both Mercedes and Smart, has also announced an electric Smart car for 2010. There's already a trial of 100 Smart EVs in London.

Chinese battery-maker BYD has decided to use its expertise to create plug-in hybrid cars and electric cars. The first to come to Europe (and then probably the US) will most likely be the F6DM mid-sized sedan plug-in hybrid (pictured above). It should have a range of 62 miles in electric mode before a small gasoline engine kicks in. More about it here.

Also from BYD, the F3DM plug-in hybrid compact car, the F6DM's smaller cousin.

Finally, also from BYD, the E6 electric car. It is built on the F6DM's platform, but it is a 100% electric car, not a plug-in hybrid. Its range should be of about 186 miles, with a top speed of 100 mph. But the most impressive part is that ""BYD projects the battery has a life of 2,000 cycles, for a lifetime range of about 600,000 km (373,000 miles)".

And that's not even everything. Other automakers will no doubt make announcements in the coming months.

Comments

[homas]

Congre$$ gave a $100,000 tax brek for buying Hummers! They can damn sure give a $20,000 tax break for buying a car that gets 35 mpg or more. That would help people shuck their gas guzzlers.

[mamacat]

That which cannot change dies.
If Detroit cannot, or chooses not to, make some good cars, then a lot more people are going to lose their jobs. It seems like a real shame that so many workers have to suffer because of management's incompetence.

[research]

Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are what's causing this flurry of electric car activity.

A123 has created nearly perfect batteries.

60 mile range using A123 cells results in a 5000$ 800HP, 300lbs and 2 cubic feet. Recharged for at least 200k miles of use.

See my profile for details and links.

Now is the time to switch to rooftop solar, offshore wind and Plug in Hybrids.

Recent breakthroughs make it suddenly much more economical.

Cheaper then war crimes for oil.

[MrBadExample]

Great news but fifteen years too late.
Memo to all those pushing green cars: it takes about 90 barrels of oil to manufacture a car (once the processing of the steel, rubber, glass, plastic, etc., are taken into account). If anything, the creation of so called green cars with with their exotic materials and manufacturing equirements, may be worse. Once these costs are fully reflected in car purchase prices, driving will no longer be a middle-class activity.
Part II: electricity is generated (In the US anyway) by oil or natural gas. There are some serious questions about whether we have enough natural gas to keep everyting running in coming years.
Part III: Automotive manufacture is only one component in the infrastructure needed for an auto-intensive society. Asphault is oil. Road repair is an extremely oil-intensive operation. What are we going to do after oil peaks?
Stop worrying about the cars and start thinking about a post-oil future.

[BlackbirdHighway]

Sorry, but your made up "facts" aren't very convincing.

[speakeasy]

Thats maybe a little to defeatist of an attitude. These guys are going to build cars regardless so why not build these type of cars and car prices haven't exactly been going down as of late.

Instead of concentrating on what type of fuel to use for electricity, we should be working on reducing the 60% of that energy lost in transmission thru the grid. Think of the savings there... You left out coal too. Theres 200-400 years worth of coal in the US. I'm not promoting coal mind you, but a facts a fact.

Peak oil does not mean the end of oil, it is more like the beginning of the end of oil. The end of cheap easy to get to oil (and light sweet as well). There is lots of oil out there, but it will be more expensive to get to.

[research]

Sorry about that. I put out that 60% LOST IN TRANSMISSION figure, but it's not quite correct.

It's 60% lost in generating and transmission. Only about 7% is lost in transmission.

The 60% does come into play when comparing rooftop solar, since the energy figure for solar are after efficiency and the the energy INTO coal plants is used in many energy calculations.

I have redone my calculations 080627 version.

See my profile for details.

[FearlessFreep]

When will we get green motorcycles?

[mamacat]

For local use, they are available now. I saw one advertised on the net for about $1,600 U.S.

[research]

Fastest motorcycle on earth: Kilacycle

http://www.yorkblog.com/greenmesh/2007/10/350_hp_electric_dragster_motor.php

Great demo of the A123 cells.

[KillTheMessenger]

And none of these will make an appreciable difference. The only cars that will significantly reduce fuel consumption in the US will be the Toyota and Honda hybrids and the smaller gasoline powered cars that consumers will decide to replace their SUVs and trucks with. Maybe we will see some serious EV market share by 2015, but I would bet it will happen more around 2018-2020.

[research]

Why?