Tesla Motors to use Panasonic Batteries
January 8, 2010 by admin
Filed under Tesla Motors
In a recent press release, Panasonic and Tesla Motors announced they will collaborate to develop the next generation of batteries for electric vehicles. Panasonic is the world’s largest producer of Lithium-ion battery cells and Tesla is the only current manufacturer of a highway capable EV.
PRESS RELEASE
Tesla and Panasonic Collaborate to Develop Next-Generation Battery Cell Technology
SAN CARLOS, Calif. - (Business Wire) Tesla Motors and Panasonic today announced that they will collaborate to develop next-generation battery cells for electric vehicles.
Tesla, the only carmaker producing highway-capable electric vehicles, will use Panasonic’s battery cells in their newest battery packs. The cells are comprised of Nickel-based Lithium ion chemistry, the highest energy density battery cells in production today, preferred by Tesla for EV applications because of their high capacity, light weight, durability, and long life.
“Our collaboration with Panasonic will accelerate the development of next generation EV cells, enabling Tesla to further improve our battery pack performance,” said JB Straubel, Tesla’s Chief Technology Officer. “Combining Tesla’s rigorous cell testing and understanding of EV requirements with Panasonic’s cutting-edge battery technology will result in custom cells optimized for use in EVs.”
Panasonic is the world’s leading battery cell manufacturer and a diverse supplier to the global automotive industry.
“Being selected by Tesla to provide cells for their current and next- generation EV battery pack is a tremendous validation of Panasonic’s nickel-based chemistry and the extensive investments Panasonic continues to make in lithium ion R&D and production,” said Naoto Noguchi, President of Panasonic Energy Company.
Panasonic is one of the world’s largest producers of Lithium-ion battery cells. Furthermore, Panasonic is the global leader in lithium-ion cell technology, and is midway through a 3-year USD$1 billion investment in lithium-ion battery cell R&D and production facilities. The first of the new facilities in Suminoe, Japan will begin production in April 2010.
Tesla’s current battery strategy incorporates proprietary packaging using cells from multiple battery suppliers. This new cell will also be compatible with other cell form factors to enable the continuation of Tesla’s strategy of using cells from multiple suppliers. Tesla has already delivered more than 900 cars to customers in North America and Europe.
About Tesla
Tesla’s goal is to produce increasingly affordable cars to mainstream buyers – relentlessly driving down the cost of EVs. San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla sells cars online and has delivered nearly 900 Roadsters to customers in North America and Europe. In addition to South Florida, Tesla has showrooms in California’s Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Boulder, London Munich and Monaco.
The Tesla Roadster is faster than an Audi R8 yet is six times as efficient as conventional sports cars. With an EPA-estimated range of 244 miles per charge, it costs less than $5 to charge.
Electric Car Sound Debate
November 15, 2009 by admin
Filed under -Uncategorized-
For 30 years, engineers have been working on making cars quiet, so the criticism that electric cars are, in fact, too quiet, seem foolish. And in my humble opinion, it is completely ridiculous, kind of like this article I just read about a UK politician’s idea to put cowbells on electric cars to make them more safe.
Most modern, four cylinder vehicles are virtually inaudible at low speeds. And at constant speeds of 30-60 mph, the most audible noise of a modern sedan is the tires rolling against the pavement and wind resistance. Granted, at idle and extremely low speeds, an electric vehicle is basically silent compared to an internal combustion engine. However, you cannot even notice the discrepancy unless you are within five feet of the car to begin with.
Anyway, take a listen to the Fisker Karma in action and tell me that the electric vehicle doesn’t make any noise:
Pretty similar to a jet engine spooling up. This is a perfectly acceptable amount of sound. The whole premise of a car being “too quiet” is ridiculous. Electric cars are inaudible because they are efficient. Less heat, friction, moving parts, and noise means less energy is wasted turning the wheels.
2010 Tesla Roadster Sport
November 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under Tesla Roadster
This is a pretty cool video on the Tesla Roadster Sport.
First, there is a pretty informative overview of the interior. The Roadster now has a working glove compartment, alright! The transmission selector is now four buttons on the center console instead of a traditional lever. You can select from drive, neutral, reverse, and park. The console also features a port for your ipod or iphone, which from experience, really comes in handy nowadays. Accents on the car are all true carbon fiber, which is rare, because of how commonly it is faked.
The host also gives the battery of the Tesla Roadster Sport a once over. Giving the predictable, “There’s not much to look at here” quip. The Tesla Sport only has a single speed, so there is no complicated transmission bungling up the power to the wheels. He notes the car has 288 hp as apposed to the 248 of its predecessor; which gives it a 3.7 0-60 acceleration, .2 second quicker.
The best part of this video in my opinion is the host’s explanation of the Roadster’s regenerative brakes. When you hit the brakes, you are still using friction braking. The regenerative braking is when you lift off the gas, and you are slowed down by the regen brakes to give a “synthetic compression braking”. So it gives you that pulled forward feeling like you get when you lift off the gas in too low a gear in a regular vehicle.
Electric Cars Highlight Tokyo Auto Show
November 3, 2009 by admin
Filed under -Other EVs-, Nissan Leaf
Below is The Auto Channel’s coverage of the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show. Unique, compact electric cars were the focus of the event. First up in the video is the Mazda Kiyora, which actually is not an electric vehicle at all, but is propelled by a Mazda SKY-G highly-efficient 1.3 liter direct injection gasoline engine. It must have been included by mistake, but is nevertheless, a very low-consumption vehicle. The Toyota FT-EV is indeed an electric vehicle that gets 60 miles on a charge and can reach speeds of up to 70 mph. It’s so short, it looks like you could park it perpendicular on the street. The Nissan Leaf, further along than the other concept vehicles, should get you 100 miles on a charge and 87 mph on the highway. The Land Glider is another tilting EV that gets 60 miles on a charge and only achieves a top speed of 40 mph, so irrelevant in other words.
From Autobloggreen: Fisker buys GM’s Wilmington Delaware plant
October 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Fisker, Fisker Karma
Officially Official: Fisker buys GM’s Wilmington Delaware plant
by Sam Abuelsamid on Oct 27th 2009 at 11:50AM 
In Wilmington, Delaware this morning, Governor Jack Markell was joined by Vice President Joe Biden and Henrik Fisker for the official announcement about the purchase of General Motors’ closed plant there. Fisker will re-tool the plant to build a new, more affordable plug-in hybrid sedan to slot in below its more luxurious Karma. The goal is to have the model sell for under $40,000 after federal tax credits.
The current schedule is to have the car in production by the end of 2012 with volumes getting up to 75,000-100,000 units annually by 2014. Fisker has moved up its development schedule for what they are calling Project Nina thanks to the $528 million low cost loan it recently received courtesy of the Department of Energy. During the announcement, Fisker stated that he wants to export half of the production from the plant while creating 5,000 jobs in the U.S. (2,000 at the plant and 3,000 at suppliers). The local UAW president was also on hand, so it looks like the plant will remain unionized, which is very unusual for a startup auto plant.
Fisker is paying $18 million for the factory from Motors Liquidation which is the remainder of “Old GM” which is selling off assets from bankruptcy court. The plant most recently produced the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, both of which ended production last spring.
Gallery: Fisker Karma
[Source: Fisker Automotive]
PRESS RELEASE:
Fisker Automotive to Buy U.S. Assembly Plant to Build Affordable Plug-in Hybrid Cars
WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — Fisker Automotive has selected the Wilmington Assembly plant in Wilmington Delaware to build affordable plug-in hybrid cars.
Fisker executives made the announcement inside the dormant facility today, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, Delaware Governor Jack Markell and other state officials.
The plant will support Fisker Automotive’s Project NINA, the development and build of an affordable, family-oriented plug-in hybrid sedan costing about $39,900 after federal tax credits.
Production is scheduled to begin in late 2012. Fisker Automotive anticipates Project NINA will ultimately create or support 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs by 2014, as production ramps up to full capacity of 75,000-100,000 vehicles per year. More than half will be exported, the largest percentage of any domestic manufacturer.
The modernized Wilmington Assembly plant was selected for its size, production capacity, world-class paint facilities, access to shipping ports, rail lines and available skilled workforce.
“This is a major step toward establishing America as a leader of advanced vehicle technology,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO. “Wilmington is perfect for high quality, low volume production and will soon be the proud builder of world-class, fuel-efficient Fisker plug-in hybrids.”
Fisker Automotive has signed a letter of intent with Motors Liquidation Co. (MLC), formerly known as General Motors Corp. to purchase the Wilmington plant for $18 million after a routine four-month evaluation period.
An additional $175 million will be spent to refurbish and retool the factory over the next three years.
Funds will come from a conditional loan of $528.7M the Department of Energy awarded the company in September.
The loan is part of the $25B Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program (ATVM) appropriated by Congress in 2007 to help the United States lead in the development and manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles.
The company’s first car, the Fisker Karma, will be the world’s first production plug-in hybrid when it goes on sale this summer at retailers in the U.S. and Europe.
Fisker plug-in hybrid cars will help remove the country’s dependence on foreign energy by eliminating the need for 42 million barrels of oil by 2016. They will also offset 8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
“With our close-knit business, government, and educational communities and our potential to respond rapidly to new opportunities, today’s announcement is a testament to what works best in Delaware. Fisker is a perfect partner in shaping Delaware’s economic future, and we are thrilled that the vehicle that can reshape the automobile industry will be built here in Delaware, by Delaware workers.” said Governor Jack Markell (D-Delaware).
Gary Casteel, UAW director responsible for the plant, said, “It gives me great pride to give UAW Local 435 workers the opportunity to partner with Fisker Automotive to create a greener America by building a plug-in hybrid car that will compete globally.”
ABOUT FISKER AUTOMOTIVE, INC.
Fisker Automotive is a privately owned, premium American car company with a vision to lead the automotive industry into the next-generation of automobiles with high-end design expertise and eco-friendly powertrain technology. Global headquarters are in Irvine, California, USA.
The company was created in 2007 to leverage the design capabilities of Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, founded by auto design veterans Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler, and the PHEV powertrain capabilities of Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:QTWW) , a major Tier 1 supplier of clean vehicle technologies to the automotive OEMs. Previously, Fisker, CEO, was design director for Aston Martin and president and CEO of BMW’s DesignworksUSA. Koehler, COO, led operations for Ford’s Global Advanced Design Studio and created concept cars for Aston Martin, MINI and BMW.
ABOUT WILMINGTON ASSEMBLY
The Wilmington Assembly plant was built by General Motors in 1947. Over the years it has been expanded to 3.2 million square feet on 142 acres of land. It includes an on-site powerhouse and waste water treatment facility. More than 8.5 million cars have been manufactured there, including the Pontiac Streamliner, original Chevrolet Impala, 1997-1999 Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn L-Series and the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky/Opel GT roadsters. Production capacity is 300,000 cars per year. The plant and its workforce have received many awards for excellence in quality, production and safety.
Fisker Karma hits 100 MPH around Leguna Seca (w/video)
September 4, 2009 by admin
Filed under Fisker Karma
The Fisker Karma made its world driving debut on August 15th, 2009 during the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races. The event was held at the Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, California. The Karma did one, complete, twisting lap at the raceway, hitting speeds of up to 100 MPH without using a single drop of gasoline. Here is a video of the car in action at the event. Notice the aggressive, jet turbine-like acceleration note, a fair consolation for those who will miss the growl of a V8 engine.
Fisker Karma Performance Specs:
Plug-in hybrid technology Q DRIVE: 50 miles on a full charge, then a gasoline, charge-sustaining generator kicks in to replenish battery power
Two Driving Modes: The driver will be able to select between two modes of driving. The first mode is Stealth Drive, which is the quiet economy mode for optimal relaxed and efficient driving. By flipping the second paddle behind the steering wheel, the car will switch to Sport Drive, which will access the full power of the vehicle.
Stealth Mode
0-60 in 7.5 seconds (0-100 km/h 7.5 seconds) Top speed 95 mph (153 km/h)
Sport Mode
0-60 in 5.8 seconds (0-100 km/h 5.8 seconds) Top speed 125 mph (200 km/h)
Regenerative brakes featured to recapture braking energy
Low center of gravity provides optimal sport vehicle driving dynamics
Source: Fisker, Autobloggreen
