Dr Automotive Design and Tools

Com’è noto, la Fiat grazie all’accordo multimilionario stipulato con la Chrysler ha la possibilità di sbarcare sul mercato a stelle e strisce e di distribuire i propri prodotti “Made in Italy”. L’approdo sul mercato statunitense avverrà in pompa magna e il primo veicolo su cui il marchio torinese punterà forte sarà la piccola ma grintosissima Fiat 500. In passato gli americani non avrebbero mai e poi mai considerato l’acquisto di una piccola utilitaria come quella di casa Agnelli, vista l’abitudine di muoversi solo sopra auto ingombranti ma anche molto inquinanti. Ciò, infatti, ha portato il presidente della Casa Bianca Barack Obama ad impegnarsi attivamente affinchè le strade americane non siano più congestionate da grosse familiari, pick up e fuoristrada che appestano l’ambiente circostante. Per questo ha fatto in modo e maniera di facilitare l’accordo Fiat-Chrylser sperando che il marchio italiano avrebbe poi risolto molti dei problemi su indicati grazie ad auto meno ingombranti e più eco-compatibili. Ed una di queste sarà proprio la Fiat 500, pronta a diventare una “best seller” anche negli U.S.A. dopo che lo è diventata con gran merito in Italia e in gran parte dell’Europa. L’esempio che oramai il vento negli Stati Uniti sta cambiando è dato dalla chiusura definitiva del marchio Hummer, diventato famoso per aver “sfornato”, uno dopo l’altro, SUV mastodontici come i famosi H1, H2 e H3 ed ora, dopo 18 anni di attività, l’azienda sta chiudendo i battenti. Il futuro anche nella terra dello Zio Sam è rappresentato da veicoli più piccoli e più parsimoniosi e la nuova Fiat 500 s’inserisce in quest’ottica. Già da tempo è iniziato il marketing per spianare la strada alla piccola utilitaria e la filiale statunitense del marchio Fiat ha dato il via ad una iniziativa originale, dal giusto impatto mediatico e pubblicitario. Su un’apposita pagina Facebook gli amici della 500 potranno decidere a maggioranza che logo mettere sulla piccola quattro ruote italiana. Una specie di concorso dove gli internauti potranno scegliere il logo della 500 destinata al mercato nord-americano. L’utilitaria torinese non verrà dunque proposta con il caratteristico marchio composto dalle tre cifre, rimpiazzato da una soluzione mista lettere-numeri o dal numero 500 scritto per esteso, a richiamare la progenitrice del 1991. La Fiat 500 sarà commercializzata in Nord America a partire da dicembre. I preparativi sono già a buon punto e presto invaderà con il suo appeal e le sue linee inconfondibili tutte le strade d’oltreoceano.
(Fonte: www.direttanews.it - 28/5/2010)

Australians have already begun placing orders for the first mass-produced electric car due to hit our shores, the Tesla Roadster.

It's due to arrive in August and the American company has revealed a number of locals have already placed orders for the Lotus Elise-based sports car.

Along with unique styling, the Roadster replaces the Lotus petrol engine with an electric motor and battery pack, enough to propel the car to more than 200km/h and travel in excess of 350 kilometres on a single charge.

Tesla has also confirmed it will set up its local base in Sydney later this year. A stand-alone store will be established, in keeping with the company's plans overseas.

Australian Rudi Tuisk will head up the local operation, having worked for the start-up car company in Europe.

"We're taking pre-orders for Australia," Tuisk said. "We're actually selling the vehicle — we're taking orders right now."

Tuisk won't reveal how many orders had been received but has confirmed extra cars will arrive with the first shipment to cater for further demand.

Tesla has confirmed that Australian certification of the Roadster is well advanced and should be signed off well ahead of launch. Right-hand drive versions of the revolutionary electric car are already on sale in Britain.

Tesla hasn't revealed any details on pricing for the Roadster in Australia. In the US, the Roadster sells for about $US100,000 ($120,350), roughly double the cost of a Lotus Elise.

In the US, the company has recently announced plans for a lease arrangement, but there has been no word from Tesla if such a system will be offered locally.

The working prototype, believed to be based on the chassis of a Bentley Continental GT, features an advanced lithium-ion battery pack and two enormously powerful electric motors – which deliver an awesome 2,200Nm of torque from 0mph.

The powertrain is composed of two electric motors, each delivering 400 HP (300 Kw) and a whopping 811 ft-lb (1100 Nm) of torque, for a total combined power of 800 HP (600 Kw) and 1620 ft-lb (2200 Nm).

But while the existence of the newcomer has been confirmed to us by a high-level Bugatti source, it’s still not clear whether the car will ever be displayed to the public.

Insiders at the company have suggested that the model is being prepared solely to demonstrate the technology, and allow engineers to explore the ultimate performance available from electric cars.

According to one driver close to the project, the battery-run Bugatti delivers “absolutely unbelievable” acceleration, way ahead of that provided by other roadgoing vehicles. The problem the company faces is managing the huge amounts of energy discharged during acceleration and required to keep the batteries fully topped up. If the car is used to its maximum performance potential, the charge lasts “a matter of minutes”.

It’s not the first model from the firm to run on battery power. Founder Ettore Bugatti built an electric model called the Type 56, which he used to drive around the factory in Molsheim, France.

The Type 56 was never intended for production, but customer demand forced Ettore to reconsider and build it.

Few examples have survived, although Bugatti’s current president, Franz Josef Paefgen, did bring a copy of the car to the Frankfurt Motor Show last autumn. He drove it on to the stage ahead of the ultra-limited-edition Veyron Gran Sport Sang Bleu, to celebrate Bugatti’s involvement in building electric cars – and possibly pave the way for more in the future.

This week, four congressmen – both Democrats and Republicans – introduced a new electric vehicle incentive bill. The legislation will provide incentives to consumers to purchase electric vehicles, grants to selected communities to demonstrate widespread deployment of electric vehicles, and other measures to incentivize both deployment and domestic production of the needed vehicle components and charging infrastructure.

The congressmen are: Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) along with Reps. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.).

Highlights of the Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 include:

• The Secretary of Energy will competitively award $800 million to 5 different deployment communities around the country, with the objective of deploying 700,000 electric vehicles in those communities within six years.
• At least $2,000 in additional consumer incentives for the first 100,000 consumers purchasing electric vehicles in these communities would be provided.
• All Americans would continue to be eligible for the electric vehicle tax credit, which reduces the prices of an electric vehicle by up to $7500, and additionally, tax credits of the costs of purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment for individuals (up to $2000) or businesses (up to $50,000 for multiple equipment purchases) would be extended.
• Additional research, development, deployment and manufacturing incentives are provided for technologies that enable the widespread deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

“From plug-in hybrids to all-electric cars, the auto industry is moving quickly to meet consumer demand for more efficient vehicles that cost less to fuel up,” said Biggert, a senior member of the House Science and Technology Committee. “Thanks to these innovations, America is making great strides toward reducing emissions and cutting our dependence on expensive foreign oil. But our electric and transportation infrastructure must keep pace with technology. The Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act will accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles and put new energy technologies within reach of more consumers and motorists. It also will help regional communities establish themselves as models for the development and installation of the next generation of transportation infrastructure, including public charging stations.”

Toyota Motor Corp lost its bid to dismiss a Florida company’s patent-infringement claim that may result in a ban on imports of the carmaker’s newest hybrid models including the Prius and Camry.

Theodore Essex, a judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, denied Toyota’s request to end the case brought by Paice LLC. He also said Toyota can’t argue that the Paice patent is invalid because that issue was resolved in court. The judge’s May 21 findings are subject to review by the six-member commission.

The dispute is scheduled for a hearing starting July 19 and the two sides have been wrangling over what issues will be considered. The arguments concern the effect of a trial Bonita Springs, Florida-based Paice won against Toyota in a case over the patent that was upheld on appeal. The case involved earlier versions of the Prius and Highlander gas-electric hybrids.

“We are encouraged by the judge’s rulings and look forward to completing our case at the upcoming trial,” said a Paice lawyer, Ruffin Cordell of Fish & Richardson in Washington.

A federal judge in the earlier case rejected Paice’s request to halt sales of the cars and instead ordered royalty payments on the Prius, as well as the hybrid-engine Highlander and Lexus RX400h sport-utility vehicles. Paice filed a new complaint, at both the court and the ITC, over the Camry hybrid, third-generation Prius, Lexus HS250h sedan and Lexus RX450h SUV.

“Toyota is disappointed, but our overall position in the case remains unchanged,” Celeste Migliore, a spokeswoman for Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said in an e-mail.

Torque Patent

In a separate case, the Toyota City, Japan-based company is challenging the royalty rate it was ordered to pay by the federal judge in Texas.

Paice, which is an acronym for Power-Assisted Internal Combustion Engines, said Toyota is infringing a patent for a way to supply torque, or force, to a car’s wheels from both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine.

It also has a patent-infringement claim against Ford Motor Co. over Fusion and Escape hybrid vehicles. Ford is challenging the patent.

The ITC case is In the Matter of Hybrid Electric Vehicles, 337-688, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington). The civil cases are Paice LLC v. Toyota Motor Corp., 04-cv-211; 07cv180 and 08-cv-261, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall).

Congress will be examining two bills today that would see up to $11 billion in new funding put towards the goal of seeing four million electric vehicles on the road by 2017.

This new cash injection would be earmarked for electric vehicle purchase subsidizing as well as investing in electric vehicle recharging stations.

With one of the main stumbling blocks to the whole hearted adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. being range anxiety, increased funding for EV charging stations could go a long way to hitting the 2017 target.

The bills in the House of Representatives and Senate have sponsors on both sides of the partisan fence and have a good shot of passing especially with massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico looming in the minds of voters.

Missing from last week's stunning announcement that Tesla Motors would buy Fremont's shuttered Nummi auto plant was a key detail: the sale price.

It turns out to be $42 million.

Tesla, which makes luxury electric cars, reported the price Thursday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing updated Tesla's application for a $100 million initial public stock offering, giving potential investors information on the purchase as well as the partnership Tesla formed last week with Toyota Motor Corp.

The price may seem surprisingly low for what was, until its closure last month, the West Coast's last big car plant. In comparison, the first phase of construction at Solyndra's new solar panel factory, less than a mile away, is expected to cost $733 million.

But the filing offers an explanation.

Tesla, based in Palo Alto, is buying the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant, but not its equipment. The joint venture between Toyota and General Motors that ran the factory for 25 years plans to auction off the manufacturing equipment in the next several months, according to the filing.

Tesla may bid on some of it, but hasn't decided which pieces will be needed to build the company's Model S sedan, which is expected to begin production in mid-2012.

In addition, Tesla and Toyota are working together to develop future generations of electric cars. That could have contributed to the low price, said Mark Ritchie, president of the Ritchie Commercial real estate firm in San Jose.

"It isn't about the money," he said. "They're partners now."

Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy agreed to loan Tesla up to $465 million to open a plant for the Model S as well as develop the company's powertrain manufacturing facility in Palo Alto.

Autocar ha pubblicato un nuovo render della Alfa Romeo Giulia che, esattamente tra 17 mesi, sostituirà la poco fortunata Alfa 159. La nuova berlina del Biscione sarà realizzata sulla piattaforma Compact a passo lungo che garantirà lo stesso piacere di guida dell’attuale piattaforma Premium della 159, senza però l’aggravio dei pesi. Inoltre, gli ingegneri di Alfa Romeo hanno assicurato che la piattaforma Compact permetterà di personalizzare la parte tecnica della Giulia rispetto alle altre auto del Gruppo Fiat che sfrutteranno la medesima piattaforma. Infatti, sono allo studio un nuovo tipo di ammortizzatori a doppio stadio in collaborazione con Koni, mentre è certo l’impiego di dispositivi come il DNA, il Q2 e la realizzazione delle versioni Q4 a trazione integrale. Per quanto riguarda le motorizzazioni, l’Alfa Giulia sarà equipaggiata con i propulsori 1.4 TB da 120 CV e 170 CV in versione MultiAir, mentre l’offerta dei motori diesel si limiterà al 1.6 JTDm da 105 CV e al 2.0 JTDm da 140 e 170 CV. Ma la gamma delle motorizzazioni è destinata ad aumentare, con i nuovi motori a benzina MultiAir 2 abbinati all’iniezione diretta. Il motore 1750 TBi con il MultiAir 2 erogherà 235 CV di potenza, mentre al top di gamma si porrà il 3.3 V6 Pentastar che con lo stesso sistema svilupperà una potenza massima di 275 CV. Inoltre, non è esclusa la nascita di una versione GTA ad alte prestazioni. Invece, sul fronte dei diesel, si prospetta l’arrivo del tanto atteso 3.0 JTDm V6 da 220 e 250 CV di potenza che sarà il primo propulsore a gasolio a combinare il sistema MultiJet 2 con il MultiAir, fino ad oggi prerogativa dei motori a benzina. Tutte le motorizzazioni saranno abbinate al cambio manuale a 6 marce e, in alternativa, al DDCT a doppia frizione.
(Fonte: www.autocar.co.uk - 27/5/2009)

Dopo l'intesa con Chrysler, Fiat Group Automobiles diventa General Distributor dei brand della casa americana. Quindi, "da maggio 2011 vi sarà un'unica rete Lancia-Chrysler in Europa, con eccezione di Inghilterra e Irlanda. Disdetteremo i dealer di Chrysler, Dodge e Jeep e ne rinomineremo le concessionarie". Così Lorenzo Sistino, responsabile di FGA, parlando al convegno "Il settore auto verso nuovi assetti" nell'ambito di "Automotive Dealer Day", la due giorni di incontri del settore della distribuzione dell'auto organizzata da Quintegia. Sistino ha aggiunto che "la distribuzione di Dodge resterà limitata a poche unità. Quanto a Jeep, dovremo incrementare i mandati perché è un marchio molto appetibile. Solo in Italia contiamo di concederne altri 50". Sistino ha poi previsto che la domanda di auto a Gpl resterà stabile quest'anno in Italia a circa 100-130mila unità, pari al 4-5% della domanda, dopo che questa tecnologia "è stata sdoganata dalla normativa. Più complesso il discorso sul metano, che richiede investimenti più alti come tecnologia da adattare a un'auto già esistente". Sull'elettrico Sistino ha infine espresso molte perplessità. "Nel 2009 l'immatricolato dell'elettrico era pari in Europa a 2.100 unità tra auto e veicoli commerciali. Le Ferrari vendute sono di più. Considerando questi numeri non si può non considerare l'elettrico come una sorta di propaganda che alcune case usano per migliorare la loro immagine". Secondo alcuni analisti tra dieci anni l'alimentazione elettrica coprirà dal 3 al 10% del mercato nel migliore dei casi.
(Fonte: http://archivio-radiocor.ilsole24ore.com - 26/5/2010)

Nissan Motor Co and alliance partner Renault could market electric vehicles without government incentives within four years as global sales reach 500,000 to 1 million vehicles per year, executives said on Wednesday.

Nissan, which is introducing a mass-market Leaf electric car later this year, needs government incentives to spark initial demand but understands those incentives will not be permanent, Nissan-Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said.

"You need to jump start electric cars at a certain level so that we can get scale and the scale will allow us to reduce costs," Ghosn told reporters after a groundbreaking at a plant in Tennessee that will produce the Leaf and its battery.

"We think that scale for us is between 500,000 and 1 million cars a year," he said. "When you get between 500,000 and 1 million cars per year, we don't need government support."

Nissan-Renault could have as many as eight electric vehicles between them within a few years, allowing the companies to reach the scale that would make the government incentives unnecessary, executives said.

"We believe we will need two to four years of incentives and supports to reach the level of volume that will free up the cost reductions that we need to implement," said Carlos Tavares, Nissan's chief of the Americas.

Tavares expects the cost of batteries used in the Leaf and other electric vehicles to come down sharply within four years for Nissan and Renault.

Nissan broke ground on a $1.7 billion a project to expand its assembly plant in Smyrna and build an adjacent lithium-ion battery plant that will be one of the biggest in North America. The facilities are expected to create 1,300 jobs.

Tavares said Nissan has an edge in battery development by being first in the industry to introduce a mass-market electric vehicle in late 2010 in Japan, the United States and Europe.

The first Leaf vehicles and their lithium-ion batteries are being built in Japan.

When it is fully functioning, the Smyrna plant will be able to produce 150,000 Leaf electric cars per year. The new battery plant will have the capacity to produce 200,000 battery packs.

Nissan has not said yet whether the additional battery capacity would be used for a different electric vehicle within the Nissan or Renault family. Nissan has said it would be open to selling the batteries to other automakers.

The Nissan plant investment was supported with $1.4 billion of U.S. Energy Department loans.

Nissan started taking orders for the Leaf in April. It had about 13,000 fully refundable orders in the United States as of Tuesday and 6,000 in Japan.

"We have enough capacity to start the mass marketing of electric cars, but if we see when December comes that the hand-raising and pre-orderings transform fully to sales, we are going to have to make a decision about adding additional capacity," Ghosn said.

Chevrolet's 2011 Volt hasn't even made it to the dealer showroom yet and GM's engineering team is already working on cost-cutting solutions for the second-generation Chevy Volt.

"Right now, the propulsion system is too expensive, even with using an existing engine," GM's new vice president of global vehicle engineering, Karl Stracke, told Inside Line today. But Stracke confirmed that future Volt powertrains are already being tested, including several different range-extending engines, possibly even a rotary.

"We have a strategy to go rotary engines or a two-cylinder [gas] engine making 15-18 kW. I have driven the car already. Rotary has a higher fuel consumption but here's the advantage [holds up his hands to form round, frisbee-sized shape] — packaging."

"One rotor could be enough," Stracke continued. "Of course with the higher rpm of a rotary, you need to have an NVH solution."

Stracke says GM is also looking at the possibility of a diesel engine. "The cost of the engine would be higher for the manufacturer," said Stracke, "but the fuel costs would be cheaper for customers."

If GM hopes to reach the same level of mainstream success with the Volt as Toyota has accomplished with its Prius hybrid, it's extremely important to cut costs in future generations. Stracke says the cost of the 2011 Volt's battery pack is "roughly $10,000" and that GM is "working aggressively to get that cost down 50 percent" for the next Volt.

"The future of the automobile has never been as interesting as it is right now," said Stracke. "Big question is, what new propulsion system will come next?"

Zero Motorcycles have put together a video to publicize their win at the TTXGP race recently held at Infineon Raceway.

The 46-minute video (above) covers the entire June 16 race along with race winner Shawn Higbee’s post-race burnout and the obligatory trophy presentation on the podium.

The dogfight at the head of the field is AC versus DC. The Zero Motorcycles bike is actually the Isle of Man TTXGP race winner with a paint job. It runs 2x Agni brushed DC motors that put out a total of approx 80 hp. The Yellow Lightning Motorcycles bike blowing it off down the straights runs a AC motor out of EV1 which is good for 137 bhp (102 kW) powered by a souped up industrial inverter where the fuel tank would normally be.

The Zero motorcycle outperforms the lightning bike in the turns throughout the race but it's not clear how much difference the skill levels of the riders contributes to the difference in performance. I find it hard to believe a bike with 70% more power from the EV1 motor and that much straight line performance and could possibly handle that bad in the corners.

Nissan Motor Co. began building a battery factory next to its main North American auto-assembly plant to support Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn’s expectation of surging U.S. demand for electric vehicles.

When it opens in 2012, the plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, will be able to supply lithium-ion battery packs for 200,000 electric cars a year, topping Nissan’s plan to build as many as 150,000 rechargeable Leaf hatchbacks there annually. Japan’s third- largest carmaker said today its $1.7 billion investment in Leaf and battery capacity in Smyrna, funded mainly by a $1.4 billion U.S. government loan, may add as many as 1,300 Tennessee jobs.

“What we’re doing here will radically transform the automotive experience for consumers,” Ghosn said. “Production of Nissan Leaf and lithium-ion batteries in Smyrna brings the United States closer to its goal of energy independence, creates green jobs and helps sustain American manufacturing.”

Ghosn, 56, has set a goal for Nissan and partner Renault SA, which he also runs, to lead an emerging market for electric autos as the U.S., Japan and Europe push automakers to cut oil consumption and carbon emissions tied to global warming. While General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and other rivals are readying their own rechargeable models, none has a goal of matching Ghosn’s sales target of as many as 500,000 electric cars a year by 2012.

Nissan will gain economies of scale to reduce costs when it reaches that level, Ghosn told reporters today.

“I don’t see this as a risk. I see this as a huge opportunity,” Ghosn said at an event at the factory. “When we get to 500,000, 1 million units, we don’t need government support.”

‘Wildly Optimistic’

GM aims to build 45,000 of its Volt plug-in cars, which also use gasoline, annually by 2012. Toyota hasn’t set volume targets for either its plug-in Prius hybrid or “urban commuter” minicar that arrive in the U.S. in 2012.

“Sales of 500,000 vehicles by 2012 is just wildly optimistic,” said KG Duleep, a Washington-based analyst for ICF International who helps the National Academy of Science and U.S. agencies with advanced automotive technology. President Barack Obama has set a goal of getting 1 million plug-in and battery vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015.

Ford Motor Co. on May 24 said it’s investing $135 million and adding 220 jobs at three Michigan facilities to help it introduce five models powered wholly or in part by electricity by 2012.

Global Capacity

With Nissan’s new factory and others announced by U.S. auto and battery makers, by 2012 the country will have about 20 percent of forecasted global capacity to produce advanced batteries, Daniel Poneman, U.S. deputy secretary of energy, said today at the Smyrna site.

“By 2012, factories like this one will be shipping tens of thousands of electric vehicles to showrooms around the world,” Poneman said. The Obama administration so far has committed $12 billion to advanced vehicle technologies, he said.

The first shipments of Yokohama-based Nissan’s Leaf, capable of traveling as far as 100 miles solely on battery power, will arrive late this year in the U.S. and Japan. Nissan has said it expects U.S. tax credits and rising fuel prices to spur demand for the $32,780 car, which will cost $25,280 after U.S. subsidies.

Nissan last year was awarded an Energy Department loan of as much as $1.6 billion for “advanced technology” vehicle production in the U.S. The company has since modified its loan application, eliminating an initial plan to make electrodes for the batteries and leaving the production to Japan’s NEC Corp., Mark Swenson, Nissan’s vice president of North American manufacturing, said in an interview today.

“We still hope to do that eventually, but for now the electrodes will be supplied by NEC in Japan,” he said.

Nissan’s North American unit is based in Franklin, Tennessee.

General Motors Co. may scrap a venture to develop an electric compact car in India after partner Reva Electric Car Co. was taken over by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

Mahindra, India’s largest sport-utility vehicle maker, yesterday said it had agreed to acquire a 55 percent stake in closely held Reva as growing environmental concerns spur demand for alternative-energy vehicles. GM tied up with Bangalore-based Reva last year to develop a battery-powered small car.

“It is not at all crucial for GM to have an electric car in India,” said Deepesh Rathore, India managing director of IHS Global Insight Inc. “We are a power-deficient country and don’t have power to light up our homes, so why use electric cars?”
By contrast, buying Reva may help Mahindra expand overseas, he said. Mahindra also bought out partner Renault SA in a carmaking venture last month in a bid to revive slumping sales.

‘Other Options’

Mahindra will buy stock in Reva from the carmaker’s founders and spend about $10 million on new shares, it said in a Bombay Stock Exchange statement. It didn’t give an overall value for the transaction.

Reva’s “endeavor is to maintain all relationships,” Chetan Maini, its chief of technology and strategy, told reporters yesterday in Bangalore at an event to mark the takeover signing. GM had informed the company that it was “looking for other options,” he said.

Mahindra gained 0.3 percent to 517.35 rupees in Mumbai yesterday. The stock has fallen 4.3 percent this year. The carmaker’s Xylo and Scorpio models compete with GM’s Tavera utility vehicle and Captiva SUVs in India.

Reva is offering autos in 24 countries and has sold more than 3,500 vehicles worldwide, according to the statement. The company is building a plant in the southern Indian state of Karnataka to make as many as 30,000 vehicles a year.

The company intends to begin selling the lithium-ion- powered Reva NXR as early as October, Maini said in January. The car will cost about 14,995 euros ($18,500) in Europe, the automaker said last year. The three-door, four-seat hatchback has a top speed of 104 kilometers (65 miles) per hour and a range of 160 kilometers (100 miles) per charge.

Automakers are set to introduce 42 electric models worldwide by 2012, according to an October study by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Nissan Motor Co. plans to sell 500,000 electric cars a year by 2012.

Reva was established in 1994 as a venture between the Maini Group and California-based AEV LLC. The company showed its first electric car in May 2001.

Magneti Marelli (Fiat Group) ha siglato un accordo per la costruzione a Kragujevac, in Serbia, di un nuovo impianto per la produzione di accessori e pezzi di ricambio per autoveicoli. L’accordo è stato firmato dal vicepremier e ministro dell’Economia serbo, Mladjan Dinkic, dal presidente della Magneti Marelli, Eugenio Razelli, e dal sindaco di Kragujevac, Veroljub Stevanovic. A Kragujevac si trova lo stabilimento Fiat Srbija nel quale vengono prodotte le Punto, parte delle quali destinate all’esportazione in Paesi terzi. L’ammontare dell’investimento per il nuovo stabilimento della Magneti Marelli è di 60 milioni. L’impianto, una volta a regime, produrrà accessori e pezzi di ricambio per 200mila vetture all’anno. La firma dell’intesa è avvenuta a margine della prima conferenza internazionale dell’industria automobilistica svoltasi a Belgrado. Tra i relatori anche Alfredo Altavilla, amministratore delegato di Fiat Powertrain Technologies e consigliere di Chrysler. Il manager ha descritto la Serbia come «il luogo ideale dove investire». «La fabbrica di Kragujevac - ha aggiunto - il mese scorso ha cominciato l’attività di export, inviando le prime 250 auto in Egitto e Marocco».
(Fonte: www.ilgiornale.it - 26/5/2010)

Nissan’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, said Tuesday that the company had already received 19,000 orders in just 35 days from the United States and Japan for the electric car that it would start selling at year-end.

More than six months before the car, the Nissan Leaf, arrives at dealerships, the preorders mean that the car is sold out for this year and that the company might stop taking reservations, Mr. Ghosn said during a visit to the Detroit Economic Club.

“The preorders are such that we are very comfortable with what we have undertaken,” Mr. Ghosn said after the speech. “The more we advance into it, the more comfortable we are with it.”

Nissan plans to break ground Wednesday in Smyrna, Tenn., for a plant to build batteries for the Leaf and eventually other models, part of its goal to sell at least 500,000 electric cars worldwide starting in 2013. The first Leafs will be made in Japan, with assembly in Tennessee planned to start in 2012.

a small town halfway between the Bay Area and Sacramento, has a little known distinction: It has more electric car charging stations per capita than any other city in the country.

That's why the city has earned the nickname of "Voltageville." As of a few weeks ago, Vacaville now boasts a 50-kilowatt EV quick charging station, which is about the size of a conventional gas pump. The new station packs a powerful punch of electricity. It's capable of juicing up the 16 kilowatt-hour battery pack of the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV-which has a driving range of about 75 miles- to about 80 percent capability in 30 minutes, or half-way in about 10 minutes.

"This is the first publicly accessible DC fast charger in the country. It was installed by Pacific Gas & Electric as part of a California Air Resources Board (CARB) grant to do research on fast charging, including user acceptance, grid impact and power quality," said Efrain Ornelas, environmental technical supervisor with Pacific Gas and Electric's Clean Air Transportation Department. "We have to gain knowledge for what's going to happen when a bunch of these go in. What better way to do it than putting one of these in, and testing it ourselves?" The rapid charger was installed in conjunction with Mitsubishi, because PG&E has an i-MiEV in its fleet. The i-MiEV is expected to go on sale to consumers in the US in 2011.

The display on the rapid charger shows that the i-MiEV's batteries were charged to 8.8 kilowatt-hours in just six minutes and 26 seconds.

If you're keeping score, that makes the 45th charging stations for a city with a population just under 100,000. The proliferation of EV chargers in Vacaville can be credited to Ed Huestis, the former transportation systems manager for the city. Under his direction, Vacaville became the first city to use federal dollars to install electric car charging-and offer consumer incentives-more than 10 years ago.

Solar Energy in a Flash

The DC quick charger can be found at the city's solar-powered EV location-a shaded parking lot where electric car drivers can charge up under the shade of a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic overhang. The solar panels produce more power than the quick charger and the location's existing six charging stations commonly use. "This is a great spot for the quick charger because we're not going to have a bill," Huestis said. "It's also a great location because we're equidistant from the Bay Area and Sacramento."

"Something like this is more of a range extension where you're going to Sacramento," Ornelas said. "You plug in for 10 minutes, and you get 30 - 35 miles of range and continue on your way." Ninety-percent or more of electric car charging will take place at home or work using 110- or 220-volt charging over the course of hours.

Huestis uses one of the existing charging stations to fuel up his Toyota Rav4 EV. His other car runs on compressed natural gas. " I haven't driven a conventional gas-powered car for years. It's doable." The solar charging station has two stations for the Tesla Roadster, three for vehicles such as the Toyota Rav4 EV (or EV1) and one for the rare electric Ford Ranger truck.

In the Not-Too-Distant Future

The new DC fast charger was installed by Eaton, which licensed the design and technology from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. Hundreds of these charging stations are in operation in Japan, where they supply power to small electric cars from Mitsubishi, Nissan and Subaru. Each station costs approximately $50,000 plus installation to get going.TEPCO DC Quick Charger Connector

Big black trigger on the bottom secures the connection once in the vehicle's inlet-or the charger holster.

The rapid-charging technology is so new to the United States that standards have not been established. Fortunately, carmakers and utilities have agreed on the kind of connector to be used for daily charging of the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and other pure electric cars coming to market starting later this year. Until the U.S.-based Society of Automotive Engineers agrees on standards for rapid charging, the Japanese-style connectors will be used for the first demonstration projects, like the one in Vacaville.

Nissan is expected to offer the quick charge inlet as an option on the Nissan Leaf. Until then, the Mitsubishi -MiEVs in demo fleets are the only vehicles that can utilize Vacaville's quick charger.

Tom Dowling drove in his Rav4 EV about 50 miles from his home in Folsom to check out the DC quick charger. He has been an electric car driver and advocate for more than a decade-and maintains the largest online database of EV charging stations at evchargernews.com. "This charger is an important milestone," Dowling said. "This is what you could have on your travel corridors. It's quite possible in California that we'll see two or three dozen of these. It could be the wave of the future."

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India’s biggest sport-utility vehicle maker, agreed to buy a controlling stake in Reva Electric Car Co. on rising demand for alternative- energy vehicles.

Mahindra will acquire a 55 percent stake comprising stock bought from closely held Reva’s founders and about $10 million of new shares, it said in a Bombay Stock Exchange statement today. It didn’t give an overall value for the transaction.
The deal will give Mahindra access to technology that has enticed General Motors Co. to work with Bangalore-based Reva on developing an electric hatchback. Reva is offering autos in 24 countries and has sold more than 3,500 vehicles worldwide, according to the statement.

Mahindra gained as much as 4.4 percent in Mumbai and was at 527.5 rupees at 12:05 p.m. The stock has fallen 2.4 percent so far this year.

Magna International Inc., Canada’s biggest auto-parts maker, plans to invest as much as $600 million on new plants for making lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

“We currently are scouting out locations for the plants, one of which will be in the U.S. and one in Europe,” Co-Chief Executive Officer Siegfried Wolf told journalists in Vienna today, adding that Magna would spend about $200 million to $300 million per plant. The decision on the location in the European Union will be made by the end of the year, Wolf said.

Lithium-ion batteries are lighter and more powerful than the nickel-hydride batteries now in use. Automakers are trying to lower the costs of the batteries to pave the way for mass producing electric vehicles.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG has teamed with German auto- parts supplier Robert Bosch GmbH and Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. on lithium-ion power packs. Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks, plans to produce lithium-ion batteries at a new factory in eastern Germany as part of a joint venture with Evonik Industries AG.

The battery factories would mark Magna’s first lithium-ion production facilities, spokeswoman Edda Graf said by e-mail.

Magna, which assembles vehicles such as the Mini Countryman for automakers at its Austrian unit, last year fell short of acquiring its own car brand after General Motors Co. backed off a decision to sell a majority stake in its Opel unit to a group led by the partsmaker. Under the deal, Magna had planned to assemble Opel vehicles in Russia at facilities owned by Oleg Deripaska’s OAO GAZ, the Russian van and truck manufacturer.

‘Smaller Acquisitions’

After the failure of the Opel bid, Magna is interested in “smaller acquisitions” of as much as $200 million, Wolf said. He ruled out a bid for GKN Plc, saying the company is “absolutely not” interested.

Magna was linked to a bid for GKN, the U.K. maker of aircraft components, in a March report from the London-based Times newspaper.

Wolf, who was named GAZ’s chairman in January, said GAZ will make “a very good profit” this year. Earnings won’t be “as good as before the crisis as volume is still playing catch- up.”

Two Ford Motor Co. factories near Detroit will see 170 additional blue-collar jobs in the next two years as the automaker brings battery pack and gas-electric hybrid transmission assembly to the United States.

Ford said Monday it will invest $135 million by 2012 at factories in Ypsilanti Township and Sterling Heights, Mich., to design, engineer and produce components for its next generation of hybrids and fully electric vehicles. About half the investment comes from a federal grant.

The Ypsilanti factory, which now makes auto parts, will get $10 million of investment to build battery packs, creating about 40 new jobs. The packs are now assembled by Delphi Corp. in Mexico. Ford will get its advanced lithium-ion battery cells from a parts supplier that it would not identify.

The Sterling Heights transmission factory will get a $125 million investment and 130 new jobs to build the continuously variable hybrid transmissions now built in Japan.
Currently a supplier makes complex hybrid transmissions for Ford in Japan, the company said.

Ford also said that future development of electric and hybrid vehicles will be centered in the Detroit area, and it also will add 50 engineers to help do the work.
Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said further job growth and investment depends on acceptance of electric vehicles in the marketplace. Ford plans to sell five electric or hybrid vehicles in the U.S. by 2012 and Europe by 2013. It currently offers four hybrid models, including the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan midsize cars and the Ford Edge and Mercury Mariner midsize sport utility vehicles.

"The good news is we're making the investment now, it's going to result in obviously driving innovation, driving job growth. We'll see where we go from there," Fields said.

Ford received a $62.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for hybrid and electric vehicles. The money is part of the federal economic stimulus package, Ford officials said Monday at a news conference at the Ypsilanti Township factory. The company also received tax breaks and from state and local governments.

Fields said Ford was able to bring the jobs to the U.S. because of cooperation with the United Auto Workers on wages and productivity. The company and the union, he said, agreed on how to do the work so the business case made sense.

UAW Vice President Bob King, who has been nominated to become the union's president, said the cooperation was essential to bringing jobs that Ford, which is based in Dearborn, Mich., could have kept in other countries. The company's decision also creates the potential for more work, he said.

"This is an area that will expand and grow, especially the batteries," he said.
Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said the battery pack assembly offers hope of future jobs in the township, which has been hit hard by auto job losses. General Motors recently closed a transmission plant in the township that once employed thousands of workers.

The township approved about a $500,000 tax break for six years on a $9 million investment, Ford said. The state of Michigan also approved $188 million in tax credits for Ford, which includes building an electric car at a factory in Wayne, Michigan. Ford is seeking a $2 million tax abatement from the city of Sterling Heights.

Under the terms of its UAW contract, it's highly likely that Ford will pay the new workers around $14 per hour, about half the hourly wage it pays existing workers, Fields said. Before hiring new staff, though, the automaker will have to recall about 450 laid-off workers nationwide, but it expects to do that well before the Ypsilanti and Sterling Heights jobs are filled.

Ford's plans include a fully electric small commercial van this year, the Transit Connect; an electric Focus compact in 2011; new midsize and compact hybrids in 2012; and a new compact plug-in rechargeable hybrid, also in 2012.

The Fusion hybrid, Ford's top-selling gas-electric vehicle, outsold Toyota's Camry midsize hybrid through the first four months of the year. Ford sold 5,512 Fusion hybrids, compared with Toyota's 5,082 Camry hybrid sales. But Toyota's Prius still leads in hybrid sales at 40,793.

Ford's news follows Friday's announcement that Chrysler Group LLC will add nearly 1,100 new jobs at a Detroit plant that makes the new Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Both announcements give hope to Michigan, which has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 14 percent.

The automotive industry will reach a turning point during 2010, as it begins the gradual transition away from the internal combustion engine and towards electrification. According to a new report from Pike Research, this evolution will require the ongoing buildout of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, ranging from residential equipment to public, private and workplace charging stations. The cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that a total of 4.7 million such charge points will be installed worldwide during the period from 2010 to 2015.

“The success of hybrid vehicles in the 2000s gave drivers a taste for propulsion by electric power,” says senior analyst John Gartner, “and governments around the world are now highly focused on creating the charging infrastructure to support the arrival of EVs in significant numbers.” Gartner expects that by 2015, more than 3.1 million EVs, including plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles, will be sold worldwide.

Pike Research’s analysis indicates that the market for EV charging equipment is likely to become increasingly crowded by the end of 2011. While the initial wave of vendors was led by niche vendors such as AeroVironment, Better Place, Coulomb Technologies, and ECOtality, heavyweight technology players such as GE, Panasonic, Samsung, and Siemens are now making bold moves into the space.

Since initiating its coverage of the EV charging equipment sector in 2009, Pike Research has downgraded its forecast slightly to the current level of 4.7 million charge points installed between 2010 and 2015, from its original estimate of 5 million charging stations during that period. Gartner comments that this is due to a somewhat slower projected rate of sales for EVs, in addition to the continued lack of a clear business model for public charging stations. “The economics of selling a few kilowatt hours per charge are very challenging, and as such we anticipate that public charging station deployments will be driven mainly by government initiatives over the next several years.”

Pike Research’s study, “Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment”, analyzes technology and business issues related to the buildout of EV charging infrastructure in global markets. It examines the market for residential, public, private, and workplace charging stations as well as reviewing the key operational and technological impacts of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles on the grid. Analysis includes an in-depth assessment of market drivers and barriers, along with profiles of charging infrastructure vendors and utilities. Detailed forecasts for EV charging equipment are included through 2015. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

Pike Research

As plug-in electric vehicles become more common in garages and carports around the nation, the result will be an increased demand on local utility grids that supply the power to charge them.

Recognizing the need for a standard set of requirements addressing this issue, SAE International created the new standard, J2836/1(TM) - Use Cases for Communication between Plug-In Vehicles and the Utility Grid.

The standard establishes use cases for two-way communication between plug-in electric vehicles and the electric power grid, for energy transfer and other applications. Also, it provides a set of communication requirements for use with various load management and rate programs that will be established by utility companies related to the charging of plug-in electric vehicles. The various utility programs will enable consumers to charge their vehicles at the lowest cost during off-peak hours, and helps the utilities reduce grid impacts by minimizing electric vehicle charging during peak periods.

Rich Scholer, HEV E/E Systems Engineer, Ford Motor Company, is chair of SAE International's Hybrid Task Force and sponsor of the new standard. "The biggest challenge for utilities is managing the grid during peak times, a time when energy is the most expensive and demand is greatest. As we add more plug-in electric vehicles to the grid, we're increasing our need for on-peak power and infrastructure. This standard will help enable consumers to charge their vehicles at off-peak hours and help utilities better manage the grids during peak hours, thus minimizing cost and grid impacts."

Buongiorno a tutti e benvenuti. Come probabilmente avrete intuito, questo è un giorno epocale per me, per Fabrizio e per tutta la nostra azienda. Sono passati 42 anni da quanto fondai la SIRP, un piccolo studio di design e progettazione che poi diventerà l’attuale Italdesign. Steve Jobs, CEO di Apple, in un suo discorso all’università di Stanford, dice che “non si possono unire i punti della propria vita guardando al futuro ma solo guardando al passato”. Bene, se mi volto indietro e guardo a Italdesign non posso non pensare ad un figlio che è cresciuto ed è diventato grande attraversando questi 4 decenni, passando da un piccolo ufficio in cui lavoravano poche persone ad una grande realtà industriale in grado di dialogare con tutte le grandi aziende del mondo. In questi anni siamo stati in grado di mettere a punto un metodo di lavoro integrato e fortemente specializzato in ogni settore, dallo stile all’ingegneria, dalla modelleria alla prototipazione. L’alto livello di qualità e professionalità raggiunto in ognuno dei servizi che abbiamo offerto al mondo dell’automobile ci ha consentito di essere presi in grande considerazione da un grande gruppo come Volkswagen, che ritengo il numero uno al mondo. Da oggi Italdesign entra a far parte della grande famiglia Volkswagen. Oggi si completa un rapporto che dura dall’inizio degli anni ’70 quando venni chiamato per disegnare la Golf. Quell’auto segnò un nuovo inizio per la casa di Wolfsburg. Questo giorno segna un nuovo inizio per Italdesign, a cui guardiamo con serenità e fiducia. Grazie a tutti. Giorgetto Giugiaro

In qualunque modo si provi a leggerlo, l'acquisto della Italdesign da parte della Volkswagen è una sconfitta per l'industria italiana dell'auto. Non lo è certo per il made in Italy, per il prestigio, la forza e le idee del design firmato Giugiaro. I suoi modelli continueranno a nascere e sedurre come hanno fatto finora. Avranno però il marchio tedesco della Volkswagen, il più importante d'Europa ed entro pochi anni anche dell'intero pianeta. Non ci sarà infatti spazio per nessun altro, sarà un lavoro in esclusiva, l'ha detto Giugiaro e l'ha ripetuto Martin Winterkorn, numero 1 della casa di Wolfsburg, sceso per l'occasione a Moncalieri, nella sede torinese del designer italiano. Anzi sarà proprio questo valore aggiunto, questo stile unico al mondo ad aiutare il gruppo a scalare la classifica mondiale. "Un partner perfetto", l'ha definito Winterkorn, "una tappa fondamentale per il nostro percorso di crescita". Quanto abbia speso la casa tedesca per acquistare il 90,1 per cento di Italdesign non è stato comunicato ma tutti si sono prodigati a descrivere l'ottimo stato di salute del gruppo di Moncalieri e nessuna necessità di quest'ultimo di trovare un nuovo acquirente. Dunque al di là di una storia di una collaborazione che risale agli anni Settanta con la Golf, si può facilmente intuire che la scelta di Giugiaro ha ben altre motivazioni. E' stata dettata anche e soprattutto dall'aver constatato che si trattava davvero di una colossale opportunità. Tanti soldi per l'acquisto della quota di maggioranza, molto lavoro fin da subito e una certezza per il futuro dell'azienda. L'industria italiana avrebbe potuto garantire altrettanto? Qualcuno si è posto il problema? Non sono pochi modelli italiani usciti dalla sua matita. A ricordarli tutti si corre il rischio di scrivere la storia dell'auto: dall'Alfasud alla Uno, dalla Panda alla Punto, dalla Delta alla 159 fino alla nuova Croma. Modelli che rimarranno nella storia dell'auto del nostro paese a cui però non se ne aggiungerà più nessun altro. I prossimi, infatti, saranno tutti targati Volkswagen. Un peccato per la nostra industria, una fortuna per quella tedesca.
(Fonte: www.repubblica.it - 25/05/2010)

Technical Details (As seen order);

Porsche 911 GT2 RS: http://www.porsche.com/microsite/911gt2rs/international.aspx
Porsche 911 GT3: http://www.porsche.com/international/models/911/911-gt3/featuresandspecs/
Porsche 911 GT3 RS: http://www.porsche.com/international/models/911/911-gt3rs/featuresandspecs/

Pictures are taken from;
Porsche and Louis Vuitton Websites