Taycan, The Young Wild Horse, From Porche Will Liven Up The Electric Car Scene.

Taycan (pronounced tie-kahn) - Young Wild Horse

Why go electric? asked Los Angeles Times from Porsche Chief Executive Oliver Blume;

Because of the CO2 targets worldwide. We have a big motivation: We have to do it.

We’ve had big success in electric motor sports. We’ve won three of the last four 24 Hours of Le Mans races with the 919 Hybrid. We carry over what we do in motor sports to the road. In Europe, more than 60% of Panamera sales are hybrid.

When asked about #Tesla, "The Taycan is often described as a Tesla-fighter, but you seem to hold Tesla in high regard?." Mr. Blume answered;

“If you look at what Tesla has done, if you look at their volume and look at their price level, it’s truly astonishing.
If you can do that with one brand and a sales network that is not comprised of dealers and a real sales organization, it’s even more astonishing.”

L.A. Auto Show LAT

Rinspeed iChange, Shape Shifting iPhone Controlled Electric Car

Jalopnik has a report on a new concept electric car by Rinspeed that is shape shifting as in converting from single seater to three seater with a single button, or an icon on the iPhone!. The 0-62 MPH in four seconds car is a total electric car and except the driving portion, everything is controlled by an iPhone.
The car is powered by a stack of Lithium Ion batteries which comes in two configurations, short and long distance driving capabilities. The car is capable of reaching 137MPH with those batteries and who wants to go that fast? You might be able to see the car at Geneva Motor Show March 5-15th.
Jalopnik report

Tags: Rinspeed, iChange, Electric Car, iPhone

MINI - E, Me Too?

I was looking reading and digesting the "select private and corporate customers" in California, New York and New Jersey., the electric version of the Mini. After seeing the photos on the web and glancing on the specs, the only thought entered my mind was, they want to be me too! on the electric band wagon.
But after reading a bit more on the press release by BMW, I was relieved. They got to be better than that. The Mini-E is a sort of a prototype and it has a 150KW engine that gives a 150 mile range and will be released in a batch of 500 that is going to be released to "select private and corporate customers" in California, New York and New Jersey.
Do not feel bad because it is ugly motor home inside, gone are the rear two seats. There is a huge hump taking their place and has even shrunk the tiny storage area. I hope their real world experiment will help to reduce this ugliness once the real thing comes out, because I like the Mini, really and I want a one with E.

Tags: MINI - E, Electric Car

Dream Car 123, It Is Not A Dream.

When ancient Egyptians built pyramids, I doubt that they thought that the design will give way to an energy efficient transport medium in the future. But that is exactly what Sugar Cove, Illinois inventor Greg Zanis did.
Here are the specifications from the web site;

Specifications:

Curb Weight - 8,000 pounds

Speed - up to 200 mph

Miles per charge - 300 and up

Passenger - one or two depending upon size of occupants

City Car Model - $21,000 After rebates the cost is $14,000*

Standard Model - $24,000 After rebates the cost is $16,000*

* Cost does not include delivery or taxes

So if you are looking to travel like an Egyptian, here is the link to find more information.

Tags: Dream Car123, Electric Car, Pyramid car

Detroit Electric, A 100 Year Old Electric Car!

CNET News has a very interesting article about bringing history back with a Electric car, know as Detroit Electric. The moniker is the company name for new venture between ZAP and Youngman Automotive.

To promote itself, Detroit Electric--a new joint venture between Zap and China's Youngman Automotive Group--plan to release a limited number of cars based around the Detroit Electric, an electric car produced by the Anderson Electric Car Co. in the early part of the 20th century.

Anderson produced various models of the Detroit Electric from 1907 to 1939. Customers included Henry Ford and Rockefeller. It was also featured on a stamp. TV host Jay Leno has some of the cars in his collection.

image from; wikipedia.org