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Play by Play of 60 Minutes’ Electric Car Episode [VIDEO]

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Watch CBS Videos Online

:25- “The jury is still out on whether electric cars can ever really be practical”

The EV1 and Toyota Rav-4 EV showed us that electric cars could be completely viable alternatives over 10 years ago, using lead-acid batteries.

:58- “This (Tesla Roadster) is the first, all electric sports car…”

C’mon Lesley, you’re better than that. Forget the Venturi Fetish, Hybrid Technology’s LiV Rush, the Wrightspeed, and the Tzero; the Tesla Roadster was the first electric sports car. Why? Because an intern at CBS Googled it.

2:50-Enter Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of GMBob Lutz

Is it me or could this man talk me out of driving a Ferrari off the lot for 10 grand. He is a terrible spokesman. He just sounds like he would rather be playing with his helicopters, his countless sports cars, and his Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet in German Luftwaffe colors (image right).  It sounds like hes doing this because he doesn’t want to be embarrassed by Tesla, not because he believes in the product.

4:13- “GM is already touting the car even though don’t yet have a working prototype.”

Really, not even a working prototype? GM had EV1’s with 160 mile ranges before they canceled the program.  What happened?

4:25- “The real trick on the car, is software. The car needs to know where home plate is.” -Lutz

Oh, thats the holdup.  The hold up is developing a completely unnecessary amenity that will tell the car how close you are to home.  Use GPS, hook it up to the gasoline activation system, done deal.  Why are they even working on this? If the charge is low, the gasoline extender should just come on regardless of where you are, for safety’s sake.  This is like delaying a trip to Mars because they can’t decide what color to paint the ship.

5:55- “People say, I hope you enjoy the billions you got from the oil companies, you swine” -Lutz

Well, do you?

8:45- Ethanol and hydrogen all had problems, won’t that happen with the electric car?

Ray Lane- “It could.”

Come on man, your selling electric cars. You should have a practiced response to this.  New, cheap, clean, and renewable sources of electricity are being built every day.  Electric cars can run off electricity that is available everywhere.  The infrastructure is already here, as well as the technology; electric cars are the only vehicles that can someday have absolutely no carbon emissions. You cannot compare it to ethanol and hydrogen.  Those were fake solutions to begin with. Why? Because the oil companies want to sell ethanol and hydrogen.

10:20- Yeah, but they (silicon valley) have no experience in the car business…-Lutz

Grasping for straws…

Venturi Volage

Venturi Volage revealed at Paris Motor Show

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Venturi Volage

Venturi Volage

Venturi has finally revealed the successor to the Venturi Fetish and they do not disappoint. Working closely with Michelin, they designed a car that redefines the traditional concept of a vehicle. Instead of connecting wheels to a motor and chassis, Venturi and Michelin miniaturized the electric motors and suspension and put them inside every wheel:

MIchelin Active Wheel

The Volage body is basically carbon fiber wrapped around the battery for optimum aerodynamics. The driver will be sitting inside a tub that is the battery and its components, as you can see here:
Venturi Volage

The Volage will have a top speed of 93 mph and a 0-60 in under 5 seconds. It’s not quite as fast as it looks, but it will feature cutting edge technology. The driver will be able to customize the drive settings for speed, economy, or comfort. Each vehicle will be created by hand and the price will most likely be around half a million dollars. You can find out more at the Venturi Volage website.

PRESS RELEASE:

VENTURI VOLAGE

WORLD PREMIERES
The result of close technological collaboration between Venturi Automobiles and Michelin, the Venturi Volage, presented for the first time at the “Mondial 2008” (Paris Motor Show), marks a major step forward in the evolution of the Automobile. This new Venturi incorporates innovations which have enabled radical changes in terms of the vehicle’s architecture, style, dynamic behaviour and, more generally, the design of a modern vehicle.
All these changes constitute several world premières which, with the presentation of the Venturi Volage, reinforce Venturi’s capability for constant innovation, as well as its position as the most advanced company in the field of electric vehicles.

POWER TRANSMISSION & ACTIVE SUSPENSION
With 4 drive wheels with active suspension, the Venturi Volage has no equivalent. “Michelin Active Wheel” technology in fact incorporates 2 electric motors per wheel (1 for suspension and 1 for drive), ie. a total of 8 electric motors piloted in real time by spearhead electronics.
Like the mechanism of a watch, all the components, motors, gear reduction units and suspensions, are miniaturized and built into the wheels.
The active electric shock absorber system allows for total adaptation to the type of road surface and driving. Combining Michelin’s experience in the area of surface liaison with that of Venturi for the chassis, the Venturi Volage represents in its road holding, drivability and silent functioning, the summum of today’s automotive technology.

THE CAR OF THE DIGITAL ERA
Playing down the mechanical aspect in favor of electronics, close to the concept of a robot, this car belongs to a new era, the digital era. Thanks to a dashboard touch screen, the driver can configure the vehicle entirely as he wishes. This total control marks significant progress in terms of management, particularly of the energy stored in the car’s batteries: the driver can, for example, decide to give preference in certain cases to range rather than power, comfort rather than speed, an important factor for an electric car.

A CHASSIS UNIQUE WORLDWIDE
The only part that the Venturi Volage shares with the Venturi Fétish is its carbon fiber bodywork. Developed by the Venturi Design Office, this body is still a unique concept worldwide, as it is the only one to have been specifically designed to be that of an electric car and thus carry batteries within its very structure.
Thanks to this innovative design, both the Fétish and the Volage benefit from an unequalled level of safety, for both the cars’ passengers and also the batteries they carry.
The ideal distribution of the Venturi Volage’s masses – 45% at the front, 55% at the rear – and its perfectly mastered weight of 1,075 kilos enable it to attain 100 km/hr (62 mph) in less than 5 seconds.

PRODUCTION MODELS
A real demonstration of spearhead technology, the car presented in its world première is entirely operational and prefigures the production of a limited series of this model, scheduled as from 2012.
Like the Venturi Fétish assembled in our workshops in Monaco, the Venturi Volage will be assembled by hand, in the form of very limited production.
The technological repercussions of these two cars positioned at the very top end of the market are to be found on other vehicles bearing the Venturi brand, enabling as many people as possible to benefit from the firm’s advances in the field of sustainable mobility.

DESIGN OF VOLAGE, BY SACHA LAKIC
“Like a light and sensual veil, the Volage’s bodywork clings close to its exceptional technical features.
Active suspensions and motors incorporated into the wheels, a flat bottom, aerodynamic tunnels: these choices and technological advances have enabled me to “design the void” usually occupied by the engine and suspensions, and thus explore audacious new paths in terms of styling.
The void is part of the Volage style; it has been designed by subtraction.
Volage has been fashioned by the wind.
The science of aerodynamics is the main tool that has been used to elaborate its shape.
It is easy and enjoyable to imagine the movement of flows of air, on and across its bodywork.
Volage finds itself in a totally original and decidedly contemporary formal category. The relationship with Venturi’s other models is obvious, though it is also possible to see, in a few details, a subtle tribute to certain icons among French cars of the pre-war era, the most elegant, the ones that were way before their time. Volage inspires passion: its powers of seduction are immense.”

PRESS RELATIONS
Marianne HOLLANDE / Clément DORANCE
Email : press@venturi.fr
M : +33.6.78.63.23.52
Venturi Automobiles
Ph : +377 99 99 52 00
Fax : +377 99 99 52 01
THE WORLD OF VENTURI
The Venturi stand is certified « BILAN CARBONE »:
Venturi presents its new range at the “Mondial de L’Automobile 2008” on its stand of 500 m2 in Hall 5/1. The creation of the stand, just like our participation in this event, is certified “Bilan Carbone” which means that all emissions of CO2 connected with our activity have been compensated for.
Our industrial partners :
– MICHELIN Group for the Venturi Volage
– PSA Group for the Berlingo “Powered by Venturi”
– ZEBRA batteries for the Berlingo “Powered by Venturi”
Our partners for the Mondial are:
– The company VESTAS, N°1 in modern energy
– AUTODESK, world leader in 2D and 3D application software
– Our models wear STELLA MC CARTNEY’s dresses
Website:
With the arrival of its new vehicles Volage and Eclectic, Venturi is launching its new dedicated sites www.venturivolage.fr and www.venturieclectic.fr
Venturi spin-off products (including the “Black Feather” longboard www.venturiboards.com) are available from the on-line boutique on the website.

Mitsubishi iMiev

On the Mitsubishi iMiev

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iMiev

The Mitsubishi iMiev is a highway capable, compact electric car that will get have a 75-100 mile ev range and a top speed of 80mph.  It is uncertain if the iMiev will reach the US, but it is expected to be released for commercial sale in Japan by 2009.  Test fleets are already on the road in Japan and will soon hit the streets of Iceland.  Nearly all of Icelands power comes from geothermal and hydro power; electric cars are the logical next step in being emission free and energy independant.

The iMiev is expected to be priced at around $37,000.  Should the car ever reach the US, I would expect it to be successful in urban areas and among the well endowed environmentally conscious.  The car shares very similar ev performance and price range as the GM EV1, a car that was leased in California over ten years ago. I don’t see why recent technological advances are not translating to higher ev ranges than 75 miles.

Here is an informational Popular Mechanics video:

-Hybrids-

What is a hybrid electric vehicle?

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I’m in Los Angeles this week and I was astounded at the number of Prius hybrid electric cars on the road. It is easily the most popular model in California and it is officially Toyota’s top seller in the United States. While this site is mainly dedicated to fully electric powered vehicles, I thought I’d dedicate a section to the hybrid movement we are seeing on the American roads today. I don’t think they are the end all solution to the energy crisis, but you have to walk before you can run, and America is walking finally. Some people might be confused about how, exactly, these cars work and I thought I’d clarify them a little.

Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV)

Toyota Prius

HEVs, such as the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius have become hugely popular in the United States for their fuel economy and unlimited range. These cars are technically known as parallel electric hybrids because they utilize two sources of power at the same time, and electric motor and internal combustion engine.  This means both power sources can be utilized at the same time to give the car easier, faster acceleration, like the K1 Attack, which goes 0-60 in 3 seconds when utilizing both power sources. OR as parallel hybrids are more conventionally used in the Prius, the electric motor is utilized while the combustion engine is completely off at speeds 0-40 mph because it provides more responsive torque and no gas whatsoever. In an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, most gas is consumed from 0-40 during acceleration, so parallel hybrids get better gas mileage in the city. The internal combustion engine is used at speeds above 40 mph because it provides a higher top speed, and requires less gas than normal because it doesn’t need as much torque or gas at consistent highway speeds. The internal combustion engine can also drive the car at low speeds when the battery is low. This doesn’t happen often, because when the vehicle brakes, the kinetic energy is captured by letting the wheels turn the alternator which powers the battery, this is known as regenerative braking.

Serial Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)

Chevy Volt

As of now, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are not yet produced. The Chevy Volt concept is a serial hybrid electric vehicle. These cars rely purely on an electric motor to power the wheels. The Volt will potentially get 40 miles on a charge (hence, PHEV-40), then for any driving after that, a combustion engine will kick in, not to power the wheels, but to act as a generator that recharges the battery. The Volt likely has such a low ev range because GM did not want to sacrifice performance for electric power. PHEV’s can utilize regenerative braking just like HEV’s. Thus, you get the near unlimited driving range from the established gasoline infrastructure for long trips, but you can potentially go weeks without ever having to utilize the combustion engine for your daily commute.

Electric cars are potentially superior to all of these because they do not utilize antiquated internal combustion engines at all. The parts and fluids used to manage an internal combustion engine is staggering compared to the lightweight, energy efficient electric motor. The criticism of the electric car is the idea that batteries have not yet developed enough. But because of their wide range of applications, battery technologies are advancing at a swift pace; while ICE technology has been at a relative standstill for decades. And when companies such as GM say the technology is not there, you need to keep in mind that exact same company came out with a completely viable electric car in the late 90’s, the EV1, using lead acid batteries, before lithium-ion, before the potential revolutionary EEstor. But hey, thanks to the popularity of hybrids we are now walking in the right direction.