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Monday, April 11, 2011
BMW Hires Frank Weber, Former Lead Engineer for the Chevy Volt
This move is a little surprising because in the past, BMW has rarely hired top people from other auto makers, electing instead to train and promote from within. In my opinion, this is an example of how important BMW feels it is to accelerate their electric car line and not fall behind in the race to bring a wide range of electric cars and plug in hybrids to their showrooms.
What I find particularly interesting is that there have been a lot of rumors around that BMW will be offering a range extender for the i3 shortly after the original BEV version is released in 2013. I'm hearing a lot of talk about a three cylinder, turbo charged engine as being the suspected powerplant for such a set up. This would make the i3 very similar to the Volt so in that regard Mr. Weber's experience can make an immediate impact on the development of the i3.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
1,000 Charges and Still Going Strong!
Recently I passed the 1,000th recharge milestone with my MINI-E. That's considerable when you realize I have only had the car about 660 days so far. I've put 54,000 miles on it so that's over 80 miles per day, every single day I've had it. Obviously I haven't driven it every single day, so the days I have driven it I've probably averaged above 90 miles per day. That's a lot of charging, more than 1.5 times per day actually. Actually, the car is such a pleasure to drive, I find myself using it for everything I can, whether it be personal or for business use.
Those of you that follow this blog know that I occasionally write posts about my experiences for sites like Edmunds, AllCarsElectric and most often, Plugincars.com. I was talking to Brad Berman, editor of plugincars recently and he asked me if I would write a post on my range throughout the year in different temperatures. I was actually working on just that to post here, and planned to post it once I hit my 1,000th recharge. So instead of a full post here about it, I put it up on the plugincars website, that way it will reach an even greater audience than here, and give more people a chance to see how the car has performed. You can jump to the full post HERE.
A lot of people ask me about the range in extreme heat and cold, and whether or not I am beginning to notice battery degradation now that I have over 50,000 miles on it. I really haven't noticed any degradation, but my data seems to show that it is beginning to happen, as the second year data shows slightly less range that the first year throughout almost all temperature ranges.What the real usable life of a EV's battery pack is still debatable. There just aren't enough of them out there that are using the newer lithium ion chemistries that have been driven enough miles and charged enough times to have reliable data on, so I'm sure a lot of people are interested in the data that I've accumulated over the past 22 months.
Remember, the MINI-E is a prototype test car, and does not have a sophisticated thermal management system. The passive thermal management system it employs is really primitive, making this car particularly vulnerable to weather extremes. BMW will be using an active thermal management system on both the ActiveE and the i3, based on lessons learned from the MINI-E trial lease program: Here's what I've observed:
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Suzuki r3 mpv concept 2011
espite іtѕ compact size, futuristic concept models ɡеt tο accommodate аѕ several six passengers іn 3 rows οf seats. Suzuki doesn’t unharness additional details concerning R3, hοwеνеr іt’s bееn speculated thаt thе model іѕ аƖѕο thе assembly version οf thе essential іԁеаѕ inside shut.
Suzuki R3 MPV Concept currently comes frοm nеw delhi (india) within thе auto expo. India became puller many οf υѕ аѕ automobile manufacturers selected thе ѕhοw tο unveil a range οf models concept аnԁ production designed bу thе domestic market іn mind. Maruti Suzuki tο require blankets frοm R3, Compact Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) іѕ written within thе company’s analysis аnԁ Development Department іn India. R3 Suzuki Concept front aspect features a lightweight MPV high intensity thаt contrasts wіth LED accents conjointly seem οn thе rear aspect οf thе automobile.
Photos
New Chrysler Dodge Mopar 2011
"After the success of our Mopar '10 Challenger, we moved on to the iconic Dodge Charger and added even more performance," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group's service, parts and customer-care brand. "As a new company, we will continue to leverage the heritage of the Mopar brand at every turn."
For the time being, we only get a single illustration of the Mopar ’11 Charger as the Detroit automaker said it will release details of the vehicle later this month. However, the picture reveals that the special edition Charger will keep the Mopar ’10 Challenger’s black color scheme with contrasting racing stripes and gloss black alloy wheels along with a variety of other Mopar enhancements.
Suzuki Kizashi concept 2011
To put it more simply, the first car will most likely be a hybrid version of the Kizashi given that during the presentation of the sedan model in 2009, Suzuki officials had revealed plans to a add a fuel efficient hybrid variant to the lineup “in the very near future”. As for the second Kizashi concept, it will be custom tuned model with numerous styling cues inspired from the company’s motorcycle division.
PHOTO GALLERY
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Friday, April 1, 2011
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