McDonalds hasn’t decided to start selling gas, especially with the nasty economy. But the company is thinking about your car. Actually I bet McDonalds is considering ways to determine how to get you to spend as much time as possible inside their restaurants. How will they do that? Well it looks like while you eat, your electric car is going to receive its precious energy free of charge in McDonalds’s parking lot. The first restaurant to offer this incentive is located in Cary, NC, and it will be able to charge your electric car starting July 14th. Ric Richards had this to say:

The networked grid-friendly charging stations are a perfect complement to the many innovative green features of the restaurant. Our customers will have a dedicated place to park and recharge their vehicles. McDonalds is enabling a better environment for future generations by supporting zero-emissions transportation infrastructure, through the use of the ChargePointSM Network.

Will such a move convince you to purchase your first electric car? Will you eat more at McDonalds after that?
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Volvo is shifting into high gear for their fuel cell technology venture, possibly creating additional jobs in Stockholm if everything goes according to plan. Swedish Energy Agency and the Volvo Group are investing SEK 200 M in Volvo’s development of fuel cells. The investment will create around 100 new positions in the Gothenburg region within the next three years.

In the autumn of 2009, Powercell Sweden will need to hire around 60 people in an entirely new plant in the Gothenburg region. Per Wassén, who is Investment Director at Volvo Technology Transfer and chairman of Powercell Sweden AB, foresees that the company will create around 100 new jobs within the next three years.

With the growing need for alternative energy and fuel for various means but largely for vehicles, fuel cell technology can truly be a big help towards the efforts of local motorists and car companies. A fuel cell resembles a small battery. It is charged with hydrogen gas and converts this into electricity, water and carbon dioxide through a chemical reaction.

The areas of use can be power supply units for households, trucks, boats, radio masts in remote locations and electric hybrid vehicles. Compared with normal diesel or gas-powered engines, fuel cells produce significantly less carbon dioxide and no emissions at all of particulates and nitrogen oxides. In addition, they are more efficient, smaller and lighter.

(Source) Press

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That’s right, a golf cart seems to be able to run on cow dung. There’s no error here. The guys over at Yamaha have turned the dung into biomethane which can actually power the cart. Don’t worry, you won’t have to grow your own cows in order to power your favorite small car since all that methane generated from the dung will go into special tanks which will be installed in your golf carts. In case you own a golf course, would you order Yamaha dung-powered carts?

via autobloggreen

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This might not be the prettiest car you’ve seen lately but it’s certainly the fastest. Sure there are plenty of cars that can go faster than 126 mph but this one is the only wind-power vehicle capable to do that. Sir Richard Jenkings drove the car in Ivanpah Lake in Nevada. With winds of only 30 mph he managed to achieve an outstanding speed of 126.1 mph. I’m sure that in a few years, or even sooner, a new manufacturer will be able to beat this record. Ecotricity is the record holder for driving at full wind speed for now and we’ll be waiting for our minds to be blown off by the first commercial wind-powered car!

via BBC

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Ready to go all electric on your car? What about all coffee? It looks like biofuel can be made out of any oily source which means coffee fuel might just be the thing that will power you car soon.

According to experts it takes 5-7kg of coffee grounds to make a liter of biofuel which will eventually result in a price of about $1 per gallon. Does that mean you’re going to get coffee to go and gas from your local coffee shop? And talk about the better smell!

via TheEconomist

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The 2010 Toyota Prius has been unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show and it does feature those solar panels we were talking about earlier. Unfortunatelly they are just an extra option you can request and their job will be to keep the temperature inside cool.

Here’s a quick specs list for the new Toyota Prius:

From a different point of view the new Prius will be able to go for 50 mpg which is 4 miles more than the previous version and it has a 1.8L four-cylinder engine under the hood. Power and Eco driving modes are available and there’s also an EV Drive mode which will let you run on battery for a mile.

2010 PRUIS PRELIMINARY SPECIFICATIONS

POWERTRAIN

1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with VVT-i

Engine horsepower: 98 hp @ 5,200 rpm

Engine torque: 105 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm

Electric motor: Permanent magnet synchronous motor

Electric motor power output: 80 hp/153 lb-ft torque

Hybrid system net horsepower: 134 hp

Emission rating: SULEV (with AT-PZEV)

Electronically controlled continuously variable transmission

Drive System: Front-wheel-drive

Hybrid battery pack: Nickel-metal hydride

Estimated fuel economy: 50 mpg (combined)*

DIMENSIONS (inches)

Overall Length: 175.6

Overall Width: 68.7

Overall Height: 58.7

Wheelbase: 106.3

Ground clearance: 5.5

Coefficient of Drag: 0.25

Wheels: 15-inch alloy wheels

17-inch alloy wheels (optional)

Tire Size: 15-inch: 195/65R15

17-inch: 215/45R17 (optional)

Seating Capacity: 5

EPA class rating: Midsize

* Preliminary figure based on Toyota’s internal testing. Actual mileage will vary.

via Press

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Move over Toyota, there is a new car in the works and it is going to run on Solar and Wind Power. Prior to rumors that Toyota would unveil such a car, it looks like another company has jumped the gun and taken over from Toyota Motors.

RORMaxx Automotive is developing a car that can run on solar and wind power and it has been dubbed as Formula AE.

The Formual AE will be covered with flexible, thin film solar cells which are expected to extend the car’s range by 15-40%. But the most interesting part of the vehicle is its wind power aspect. Energy lost under the friction of air will be recovered through 4 intakes and directed into turbines containing brushless synchronous alternators. The power generated will then be stored in ultra-capacitors

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By August, RORMaxx may unveil the first prototype of this alternative energy running car. Watch out for it!

(Source) Energy Matters

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The official announcement for the 2010 Toyota Prius should be made sometime tomorrow. However details about the car have already been leaked so why not take a look at them.

– similar to the power of 2.4l engine – 164 hp?
– 1.2 mil Priuses sold so far
– better mpg than before
– solar ventilation for interior, built into the moon roof
– remote air conditioning activation even when car is off (world first)
– by mid may it should be sold everywhere
– 90% all new hybrid system
– highest fuel efficiency of any sedan
– LED headlights
– hybrid info screen at the combination meter
– S-VSC (small modifications of steering wheel angle done by the VSC)
– precrash (and radar distance control?)

I guess we will return with the official version of the 2010 Toyota Prius soon. In the mean time enjoy the pictures!

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Are you still raising money for your first Tesla? The company has launched a new electric car, the Tesla Roadster Sport. It comes with an extra 15% more peak power and it will get from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds. This Tesla comes with a hand-wound stator and increased winding density which will eventually get you some lower resistance and a higher peak torque. The Roadster Sport will use the Yokohama Ultra High Performance tires and it has a better suspension with adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars customizable to your liking.

The Tesla Roadster Sport will be available in June and prices will start at $128,500 in the States and at 112,000 Euro in Europe.

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The vehicle in the picture here will certainly get you around town but it won’t make you look good. sTrike has been designed by Stefano Marchetto and it’s just a more complicated bicycle. That’s right, there’s no engine, no fancy stuff behind it. It has a cocoon shaped cabin which will keep you safe while you pedal your way around town. You can probably park it anywhere too as it’s really small and could be parked virtually anywhere. The sTrike won’t impress the ladies and it’s easy to steal, but it’s an alternative to your regular means of transportation.

via tuvie

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I’m pretty sure that every car lover out there has fantasized about using one of those Mr. Fusion that Doc Brown developed for its DeLorean. Will such a device work today? Will a car work on trash?

Thanks to a process called gasification you will be able to transform solid biomass or other carbonaceous solids into a synthetic “natural gas like” flammable fuel. Your trash can be transformed into energy and therefore it can power your car. Unfortunately the whole device looks pretty nasty so you might not want to install it just yet on your favorite car.

You can always get a Honda Accord and convert it to run on this flammable fuel. Follow the link for instructions and make your first Mr. Fusion prototype.

via Instructables

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A certain Dr Hiroshi Shimizu from Tokyo’s Keio University has been working on an electric car since 2003. The name of the car is Eliica and for some reason it has eight wheels. Currently there are only two cars available and they are supposed to run on lithium-ion batteries. You might also have guessed the reason of the extra wheels. Each one has a 60kw engine. Therefore the car will develop a 230 miles per hour top speed but Shimizu and his fellow students aim for a 250 mph top speed in future models. What does Tesla have to say about all this?

A single car costs about $255,000 to be produced and the enthusiastic team wants to make 200 of them. We wish them the best of luck with it. It might certainly be interesting to see this car challenging Tesla’s rule.

via Engadget

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I am sure you’d be interested in driving one of those models made by Tesla Motors. I am thinking Model S in particular. But the car might not even be close. Tesla needs money too from the government. A whole lot of $350 million of them. Added to that Tesla wants some $200 million more for the lithium-ion batteries and another $100 million for the drivetrain business.

If the government won’t supply the money, Tesla might not by able to launch a Model S next year when it was supposed to arrive. What will happen? Well keep an eye on the news!

via Bloomberg

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It’s no wonder car companies ran out of money! GM for starters, has poured no less than $750 million into developing the Chevrolet Volt. Rick Wagoner, GM’s CEO testified that the Volt is going to enter production for 2011 although it won’t be cost competitive by that time.

Well that seems to be true. GM invested a huge chunk of that money in developing the battery which is a very important part of a hybrid. Will GM recover the losses? Well it probably will only not now. And who knows who’s going to own GM by then?

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It does look like a toy from IKEA designed for kids, but I can tell you this: the baby here weighs only 750kg. It is stuffed with lithium-ion batteries, which take about 4 hours to charge from a regular wall socket. Its battery pack will get you as far as 145 km before you need to plug it in again. Not bad for a city car.

Yep, you’ve finally guessed what it is, it’s a ”green car”. The concept appeared back in May this year and the Fiat engineers must have enjoyed assembling this battery-powered buggy. They did succeed in creating a environment friendly urban car, which is easy to drive. And don’t get fooled by the size! It will get you up to 30 mph in six seconds. It is covered in solar panels which is an improvement to the concept model we first met. Last but not least it’s fully recyclable! When you get fed up with it just toss it in the plastic recycling can in your kitchen.

via ubergizmo

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