August 2011 ~ REVOLCAR

First Canadian Nissan LEAFs Sold Out within two hours

11:10 AM RevolMedia

Over the weekend, Nissan Canada opened the reservation process for the Nissan LEAF, with all Model Year 11 inventory reserved by Canadian consumers within two hours. At noon on Saturday, August 27th, those registered at www.nissan.ca/leaf and living within the vicinity of one of the 27 Nissan LEAF certified dealers, were invited to reserve a Nissan LEAF, bringing them one step closer to having the all-electric car plugged into their home garage.

"Response from Canadians since we first revealed the Nissan LEAF in 2009 has been astounding so we're not surprised that our first inventory of 40 model year '11 cars were snapped up so quickly," said Judy Wheeler, Director of Marketing, Nissan Canada, Inc. "We expect this momentum to continue when we reopen reservations for model year '12 cars in the coming month, so keep your eyes open for more and more Nissan LEAFs driving around Canadians cities soon."

Delivery to the first wave of consumers will begin in September and continue into the fall. Nissan is carefully managing the purchase process from the first step, when consumers sign up on www.nissan.ca/leaf, until the customer drives the Nissan LEAF home and plugs it into a personal charging dock. Through Model Year 12, Nissan expects to release around 600 Nissan Leaf on the Canadian market through several waves of reservations into next year.

Reservations for Model Year 12 Nissan LEAFs will open in the coming months.

Citroën launches its first diesel hybrid, the Citroën DS5 [video]

5:14 AM RevolMedia

The final production version of the new Citroën DS5 will star at the Frankfurt motor show next month, and will usher in the HYbrid4 technology the French firm shares with sister marque Peugeot.

The five-door hatchback is the third model in Citroën's 'premium' DS line, following on from the DS3 and the recently launched DS4.

DS5 is the first Citroën model to feature HYbrid4 diesel hybrid technology, providing enhanced performance and class leading environmental credentials. The advanced HYbrid4 system delivers 200bhp; four-wheel drive capability; emission-free electric power for the city; and an acceleration boost function for the open road - with total CO2 emissions of just 99g/km.

The DS5 is Citroën’s first car to feature a full-hybrid drivetrain combining a two-litre HDi diesel engine with electric power. HYbrid4 technology offers 200bhp, four-wheel drive, electric power and will come with an automatic six-speed gearbox with optimised shift function and a stop/start system.

Co2 emissions are as low as 99g/km depending on which performance setting is used. Like other cars featuring HYbrid4, the DS5 will offer a choice of: 'auto', which automatically switches between the diesel engine and the electric motor to optimise fuel consumption; 'zero emission vehicle', for driving with the 27kW (37bhp) electric motor alone, at speeds of up to 37mph; ‘four wheel drive’, where the front wheels are powered by the diesel engine and the rears by the electric motor and ‘Sport’, which improves the engine response by maximising the use of the electric unit and the diesel.

The car's cockpit, which Citroën says is 'aviation-inspired' is fitted with premium materials including club leather and brushed aluminium.

Technology such as intelligent traction control, a new-generation lane departure warning system; an automatic high-beam function that activates and deactivates depending on light conditions and surrounding traffic and a reverse parking camera is included.

Siemens and Volvo Form Electric-Car Venture

3:31 AM RevolMedia

German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Wednesday it has agreed with Sweden's Volvo Car Corp. on a strategic cooperation agreement on electric cars.

The focus will be on the joint development of electrical-drive technology, power electronics and charging technology as well as the integration of those systems into Volvo C 30 Electric cars, Munich-based Siemens said in a statement.

It added that the first vehicles will be on the test tracks at the end of this year.

Beginning in late 2012, Volvo will be delivering a test series of up to 200 vehicles to Siemens, which will then be tested as part of an internal Siemens test fleet, the German company said.

Volvo Car Corp. was last year acquired by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. from Ford Motor Co.

For Siemens, the partnership is another step toward a greener image. Siemens touts itself as a pioneer in electric vehicles, and developed electric trams as early as the end of the 19th century.

Cooperations between companies are increasingly common in the development of environmentally friendly vehicles as a means to share the high entry costs and risks. General Motors Co. and LG Electronics Inc. also recently announced their partnership in the development of electric vehicles.

Peugeot 2020 HX1 MPV Concept to Debut @ Frankfurt Motor Show

1:57 AM RevolMedia

The French car manufacturer Peugeot will officially present an MPV Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, under the HX1 name and as a 2020 model year.

According to the automaker, the HX1 will be a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid and will come with the most advanced version of Peugeot’s all-wheel drive, while it will take its power from a 2.2 liter HDi unit, delivering 204 BHP and mated to a six-speed automatic transmission sending power to the front wheels, while the 95 BHP electric motor, fed by a lithium-ion battery pack will drive the rear wheels.

The new Peugeot Concept has an amazing fuel economy, burning only 88.2 mpg and emitting just 83g/km, while the 5008 model, with the 1.6 HDi 112 BHP unit, has a combined fuel consumption of 55.4 mpg and 134g/km of CO2 emissions.

French designers haven’t been too inspired while creating this concept and the grille has been seen on the SR1 and HR1 show models, but what catches the eye best are the doors, which open in a scissor style, upwards and outwards, for an easy access to the interior.

Further details about the 2020 HX1 MPV Concept will be revealed at the Peugeot stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Old Top Gear EV1 Electric [video]

4:45 PM RevolMedia

Old Top Gear from 1997 Quentin Willson roadtests the EV1 Electric

This clip was extracted from the episode that was first broadcast on the 24th April 1997

Toyota set new EV Lap Record @ Nürburgring [video]

2:26 PM RevolMedia

Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) has set a new lap record for an electric vehicle (EV) at the legendary 20.8km Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

The TMG EV P001, with 100% electric powertrain and Jochen Krumbach at the wheel, set a new lap record of 7mins 47.794secs to beat the previous lap record, which stood at 9mins 1.338secs, by a very substantial margin.

Using two electric motors, the TMG electric powertrain has a top speed of 260km/h which combined with 800Nm of torque to achieve impressive speeds on the extremely challenging Nordschleife track, which includes significant elevation changes and lengthy flat-out sections.

TMG's target prior to the 29 August record run was to become the first electric vehicle break the eight-minute barrier and this was achieved comfortably on a day when the notoriously changeable Nürburgring weather stayed fine, although track temperatures were relatively low.

Such performance shows TMG's electric powertrain is ideal to power any future single-make electric motorsport series and TMG will begin commercial sales of this technology in 2012. TMG continues to advance its electric vehicle capability for motorsport applications with in-house development of the electric powertrain and ongoing investigations into alternative chassis solutions.

Pascal Vasselon, TMG's Technical Director, said: "The goals for this project were twofold: obviously we wanted to set a new EV lap record and I am very pleased we could achieve that so comprehensively. On the other hand, we also wanted to learn more about the operation of our electric powertrain in extreme circumstances; in motorsport there is no more extreme circuit than the Nürburgring. On the record lap the TMG EV P001 performed better than in testing due to the improvement we already could make based on that experience. We have enhanced our electric powertrain development thanks to the information our engineers have gained and our future EV products will benefit from this project."

Rob Leupen, TMG's Director Business Operations, said: "This is a very impressive achievement which really shows the huge potential for electric powertrains to deliver fast, exciting action on the race track. There's no doubt that electric motorsport can be every bit as thrilling as traditional racing and it was an amazing sensation to watch the TMG electric vehicle fly past on the Nordschleife, with only the sound of wind rushing past and tyres squealing. To achieve a new lap record at the first attempt, and by such a huge margin, is a great achievement and I am very proud to see TMG's name in the record books. But this is not the end of the story for TMG and I hope we will see our electric powertrains in action on the track again soon."

The new lap record was completed on road-legal tyres, using the complete Nordschleife track. It was verified by independent lap timing.

TMG extends its thanks to its partners in this achievement: Aguti created and implemented the livery concept while rational motion integrated the electric powertrain, traction battery and control strategies. EVO Electric motor technology delivered the power. The TMG EV P001 is based on a Radical chassis as modified by TMG for e-WOLF.

FIA call for Expressions of Interest for 2013 Electric Racing Series

2:18 PM RevolMedia

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is the governing body for world motor sport
and the federation of the world's leading motoring organisations. It is a non‐profit making
association and brings together 228 national motoring and sporting organisations from 132
countries on five continents. Its member clubs represent millions of motorists and their
families.

In the context of an increasing environmental pressure on human activities, motorsport
occupies a particular position of responsibility and has a long tradition of pioneering
technological progress. The FIA holds a unique position to offer a perfect showcase for the
development and the promotion of innovative solutions to ensure that mobility remains
environmentally friendly.

One of the federation's main objectives is to work on the creation of a new high profile
championship, designed to be the flagship of the FIA's sustainable strategy: the FIA Formula
E Championship ("Championship").

The FIA has set itself the target to launch this Championship in 2013. As such the federation
calls for expressions of interest to identify a candidate interested in acting as the official and
exclusive agent of the FIA for the organisation and promotion of the Championship under
the Key Parameters defined in Appendix A, with a view to concluding a three year contract
(2013, 2014 and 2015).

The selection process is open to all candidates capable of conducting such a role for the
organisation and the promotion of this Championship.

Morgan 3-Wheeler 2011 - 'Superdry edition' as a competitor to T-rex car.

5:24 PM RevolMedia

Morgan 3-Wheeler 2011 is a vehicle with three wheels of the Morgan family who this time comes with a special edition of 'Superdry Edition'. everything is new in this edition, ranging from leather jackets to the entire body with Superdry, Shifer custom, unique orange line on tires, and a fairly simple form. weighing only 500 kg, 3-wheeler is able to accommodate two passengers in it. 2 pieces

NASCAR Champions on their Volts [video]

6:26 PM RevolMedia

Five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champ Jeff Gordon are both proud owners of Chevrolet Volts.

They talk about what they like about their newest cars and how other people respond when they see them driving the extended-range electric vehicle.

VW to invest in renewable energy sources

6:23 PM RevolMedia

Europe's biggest automaker, Volkswagen, plans to invest almost one billion euros ($A1.37 billion) in renewable energies over the coming years, a media report says.

VW will invest in an offshore wind park and is in talks with four companies with the goal of choosing a partner by the end of the year, the Financial Times Deutschland said, citing a source close to the matter.

The wind park is expected to have a generating capacity of 200 megawatts, about one fifth the capacity of an average Germany nuclear power plant, the report said, or about as much as 275,000 German households consume in a year.

Investing in wind, solar and hydroelectric electricity production will help VW meet CO2 emission limits that it has set for itself by around 2020, the newspaper said.

VW is of course also developing electric cars, along with all other major global auto manufacturers.

Audi EV Urban Concept car: the first photo

6:20 PM RevolMedia

Audi has only teased us so far with sketches of its new city car duo, the Urban Concept and its open-top sister, the Urban Spider Concept. Now it's lifted the lid and issued these first photos of its 2011 Frankfurt motor show debutants.

They're tiny electric runabouts, with two seats and an electric powertrain. Kind of gives us an idea of what a sub-Audi A1 city car could be in future.

Tellingly, though, parent company Volkswagen is set to show a single-seat electric project at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, as we reported this week.

Stretching to 3200mm long, 1700mm wide and just 1200mm tall. These cars are a showcase for Audi's lightweight knowhow, and they make use of carbonfibre reinforced plastic for a sub-500kg kerbweight, although the exact mass has not yet been disclosed.

A pair of electric motors is driven by lithium ion batteries and Audi claims a 40-mile range for their city car pair.

The Audi Urban Concepts will be revealed in full at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show on 13 September.

BMW face shortage of skilled EV engineers [video]

6:15 PM RevolMedia

BMW are vying to find enough wunderkinder to make their electric vehicles.

An aging workforce and declining enrollment in technical studies caused the shortfall of available engineers in their home country to rise to an all-time high of about 77,000 last month, according to the VDI German engineering association.

BMW aims to hire 800 people at its factory in Leipzig, as part of an expansion for the production of the i3 electric city car and the i8 hybrid super car.

"Until about two years ago, we had hardly heard of companies in the region struggling to find skilled staff," Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung said.

The shortage may threaten the competitiveness of BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG as they expand with electric vehicles. A third of Germany's large companies now consider the skilled-worker shortage as a business risk.

2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Interior Has Perfect Ability To Up Or Down Gears

10:16 AM RevolMedia

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2012 Audi A5 Has Strong Hydraulic Brakes

10:16 AM RevolMedia

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2011 Toyota Land Cruiser Exterior,Interior,Photos

10:15 AM RevolMedia

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2011 Chevrolet Camaro Has Gorgeous Exterior And Interior Looks

10:15 AM RevolMedia

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