InformationWeek - October 9, 2008 04:00 AM

Check out our pictures of green, 25 mph lightweights, which cost pennies to operate, from upstart automakers Zap, Zenn, Dynasty IT, Miles Electric, and E-Ride.

courtesy of Motortrend.com

By Cora Nucci

It feels like we’ve been waiting for the electric car forever. Or at least since the 1830s, when the first battery-powered electric carriages were built.While we continue to wait for GM (NYSE: GM) and other major automakers to shake off their big oil hangovers and start delivering on their electric vehicle promises — the Chevy Volt is still about two years away — impatient drivers can choose from a handful of hybrids and a class of vehicle that has received much less attention: the neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV).

Zap’s tiny Xebra Xero is a three-wheeler intended for city use. It costs about $12,000.

Officially, NEVs (or LSVs — low-speed electric vehicles) as they are classified by the U.S. Department of Transportation, are four-wheeled motor vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 3,000 pounds and a top speed of between 20 to 25 mph. Each state has its own laws about low-speed electric vehicles.

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Motortrend - October 2008

By Mike Connor

Rumors that Toyota will send its iQ super subcompact to America appear to be true — with one twist. Our sources indicate the iQ will debut at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November not as a Toyota, but as the latest addition to the Scion lineup.

Even though the tiny three-plus-one seat iQ (three adults, one child) was designed for Europe and Japan, there is a strong business case for bringing it here as a Scion.

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Businessweek - News & Features September 25, 2008, 4:37PM EST

SSC is developing the Ultimate Aero EV, a 500 bhp electric sports car that will come to market in late 2009

Last week saw the one year anniversary of SSC’s Ulimate Aero becoming the fastest production car in the world at 256.18 mph, pushing past marks set by Koenigsegg’s CCR and Bugatti’s Veyron. It’s the first time the top speed record has stood for a whole year since McLaren’s F1 held it for seven years with 386.4 kmh (240.1mph). Now comes news that an Ultimate Aero EV (Electric Vehicle) is in development. A 500 bhp EV is planned for late 2009 and a 1000 bhp 4WD EV is also under consideration. Now here’s the kicker—the press statement reads: “The drive train under development will feature a revolutionary power source allowing for extended time between charging intervals with the possibility of several years between charging.”

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FORTUNE - Last Updated: August 13, 2008: 10:56 AM EDT

These three minis manage to combine maximum gas mileage with just enough zoom.

By Sue Zesiger Callaway, columnist

(Fortune) — Attention, horsepower-hungry: Fear not the exploding array of environmentally friendly alternative vehicles. They are a hopeful signal of the potentially mind-blowing stuff to come.

Ferrari is exploring adding electric motors, which deliver peak torque from takeoff to top speed, to each wheel to capture regenerative braking energy to boost acceleration. Audi just won Le Mans for the second year in a row with a diesel racecar. The last time the automotive world saw this level of innovation was at the turn of the last century. Steam, anyone?

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InformationWeek - August 6, 2008 09:35 AM

GM’s Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid concept car. Tesla Motors’ Roadster is an all-electric vehicle in production. We peek under the hoods of both.

By Cora Nucci

The mood in Detroit has got to be grim and tense. With truck and SUV sales plunging, and financial losses mounting, GM (NYSE: GM) needs to get its plug-in hybrid concept car, the Volt, to market quickly.

That day, however is at least two years off, and one cause for delay is the difficulty GM is having in sourcing a battery vendor.

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BUSINESSWEEK - News & Features August 3, 2008, 1:45AM EST

Only 15 cars for sale in the U.S. get combined gas mileage of 30 mpg or better. We tell you what they are

by Jim Henry

At the end of 2007, sales of the Chevy Cobalt (BusinessWeek.com, 8/7/07) were down 5.1% for the year, to 200,620. The bland little compact, made at General Motors’ (GM) Lordstown plant in Ohio, was the successor to the Cavalier, and its weak performance raised the possibility that it—and the Lordstown plant—could be victims if GM were forced to shut down more production.

What a difference a year makes. Sales of the Cobalt are up more than 18% in the first half of 2008, and Lordstown cannot make them fast enough to keep up with demand. Job growth in the area is high, and despite a stagnant real estate market in most of Ohio, the area around Lordstown is enjoying enviable strength. What is the reason for this dramatic turnaround? Did GM radically overhaul the Cobalt? Did dealers offer an irresistible discount? None of the above. The tame little Cobalt has a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder engine that gets an EPA-estimated 24 mpg city/33 mpg highway, making it one of the most fuel-efficient cars for sale in the U.S. And, with a base sticker of $15,010, it’s one of the cheapest too.

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BUSINESSWEEK - News & Features July 29, 2008, 2:43PM EST

One of the big attention grabbers at the 2008 British International Motor Show is Honda’s low-emission sportscar dubbed OSM (for Open Study Model). The open top two seater design out of the company’s R&D facility in Offenbach, Germany, is being shown alongside the CR-Z sports hybrid which was unveiled at Tokyo last year and the Honda Honda FCX Clarity which is being produced in Japan and available in the US under a lease plan. While a version of the CR-Z has been confirmed for production, there are no plans to bring the OSM online anytime soon.

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