At Climate Change Summit, 14 of World's Biggest Cities Commit to EV's

A group of fourteen of the world’s largest cities came together at the UN COP15 climate summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday to form the ‘C40 Electric Vehicle Network’, which will work collectively in four areas of municipal action that they see as critical to the successful introduction of electric vehicles.

The cities–Bogota, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Copenhagen, Delhi, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Seoul and Sydney, have pledged to-

1. 1. Facilitate the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure and related electricity supply systems in collaboration with local utilities.
2. 2. Work with relevant stakeholders to streamline permitting processes associated with charging equipment to encourage the safe and expeditious installation on customer premises and elsewhere.
3. 3. Coordinate monetary and non-monetary incentives available to the general public and organizations purchasing electric vehicles, and contribute to the package appropriately.
4. 4. Develop and publish a plan to mobilize demand for electric vehicles in city fleets for the period 2010 - 2013 and rally private fleets to the safe end.

The C40 group will include input from not only municipal/governmental agencies, but from NGO's such as the Clinton Climate Initiative and private sector partners BYD, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Nissan and Renault.By advising on vehicle specifications, charging parameters, business models for electricity supply, and incentives, these companies will help the cities craft electric vehicle policies, as well as advise on vehicle procurement and infrastructure development and investment decisions.

In a statement read at the climate summit, former United States President Bill Clinton Said "By bringing together cities and private sector companies to make electric vehicles a viable option for every driver, this network will help improve air quality, create more sustainable, good-paying jobs, and establish new models for other cities to follow."

Get a Free Electric Car from Drive Electric

A headline like the one above begs the question, "What's the catch?" Can you really get an electric car for free? Well, kinda.

Oklahoma-based, Drive Electric, sells neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs - a.k.a. electric golf carts) made by Western Golf Cars and Zone Electric. The NEV retailer is currently offering the four-passenger Zone Electric NEV-48 EX for $6,496.53. Not free you say? Subtract the $6,496.53 federal tax credit for EVs from the purchase price and voila. You've got yourself a free EV.

Sure, this EV is only legal to drive on streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less, and of course, you'd better talk to your tax planner before you write the check. If you live in a community where the pace of life is slow enough to accommodate golf carts though, this may be the deal for you.

Head of AMG Says Mercedes SLS EV Will Offer Supercar Performance

The Mercedes SLS AMG is a supercar capable of delivering an exciting driving experience, breathtaking top speeds, and track worthy handling. In gasoline engine trim, the car is one of a handful of vehicles to offer performance on par with true race cars. However, this vehicle will soon be available in EV form and enthusiasts have wondered if the electric vehicle will deliver the same driving experience.

According to AMG head Volker Mornhinweg, the EV version will meet all of the performance objectives of the original car. The EV version of the SLS AMG has 4 electric motor cranking out 525 hp and 649 lb-ft of torque. Each motor powers an individual wheel making the awd EV version capable of reaching 60 mph in 4 seconds flat. The vehicles sports 3 separate li-ion battery packs delivering a 110 mile range.

Weighing in at 500 pounds more than the gasoline version, the EV SLS AMG has its work cut out. The additional weight is overcome by the traction ability afforded by awd and an advanced torque vectoring system developed by Mercedes.

As Mornhinweg said, "Effectively being four-wheel-drive does alter its character, but our torque vectoring systems give us opportunities to make it as good. It's important to get the emotional level of an EV right and we have some solutions."

The electric SLS AMG should reach the market by 2013. Price has not been disclosed and the vehicle may be offered on a lease only basis. The SLS AMG EV could be Mercedes answer to the Audi e-tron. Who could have thought that supercar and EV would exist in the same sentence?

Prior to going into government sponsored bankruptcy, Chrysler had displayed several electric car concepts including a 200C extended range electric vehicle and a 2 seat electric roadster.

Since re-emerging as property of Italy's Fiat corp, plans for those Chrysler electric cars have been in limbo, and the so-called ENVI program all but dead.

Apparently that's about to change.

Bloomberg is reporting information gleaned from anonymous sources that Chrysler will be unveiling an electric version of the Fiat 500 at the Detroit Auto Show next month.

,Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne was quoted as saying his company plans to sell over 50,000 electric vehicles per year by 2014.

The 500 is already a popular subcompact car in Europe, and a gas version is expected to go on sale in the US next year.

What Chrysler's plan for the Fiat 500 EV is remains unknown at this time.

12 Cool and Funny Looking Electric Cars

Electric cars are cool, hip, interesting, and environmentally-friendly. Automakers old and new are all developing new ways for us to drive, and by far, the most popular hybrid vehicle in the United States is the Toyota Prius. We’re all used to how it looks now, but remember how strange we thought it looked when it first came out? Oh yeah… a lot of these electric cars look weird… no doubt about it… here’s a list of my favorite odd-balls…

1. Aptera 2e

Even if it did have four wheels, instead of only three, the Aptera would still look odd. It looks futuristic, to say the least… like it would hover, rather than actually drive on the street…

2. Mitsubishi iMIEV

I test-drove this little bug at this year’s auto show in Detroit, and I liked it! It was peppy and easy to maneuver, but… it is so funny-looking!

3. Toyota Prius

We may be used to seeing them now, but you have to admit, the first time you saw a Prius, you thought it was a little funny-looking! I do actually like the iconic profile, but… I used to think it was weird, too!

4. Solus COCO Neighborhood Electric Vehicle

This looks a lot like the SMART car to me, except it seems to be missing something… hmm… I hope it doesn’t rain!

5. Peugeot BB1

This concept car was unveiled last week, and this may be one of the strangest-looking electric cars I’ve ever seen. It seems to be leaning forward, ready to topple right over! And the front wheels are noticeably larger than the back… weird…

6. Nissan LEAF

It’s hard to pin-point exactly what about the LEAF looks so odd… it just looks stretched out, with difficult proportions… like an elongated station wagon, but I think the design might grow on me, just like the Prius did…

7. Tango EV
Skinny! This has to be the thinnest, narrowest, skinniest car I have ever seen… Almost like an enclosed scooter! This EV is a two-seater, but unlike other two-seaters (like the SMART car), the driver and passenger sit front-and-back, not side-to-side.

8. Renault Kangoo EV

I actually really like this unusual design. It’s bubbly, cute, almost like an animated characters or a video game vehicle.

9. Axon Hatchback

This looks a lot like the original Honda Insight, with the skirting on the rear wheel wells. It must have great headroom, with that camel-hump in the middle!

10. Honda Insight

Come to think of it, the Honda Insight was really strange-looking, especially since we we’re used to seeing anything this small and stream-lined on the road at the time. Now it looks a lot more like the Prius…

11. REVA NXR

I really like this one! It’s odd-looking, for sure, but it’s attractive in an almost feline way. The color I’ve seen the most is also a cool lime green… I like it!

12. TH!NK City

If IKEA made an electric vehicle
, this might be what it would look like. Tiny, spare, but strangely adorable. Do we want our cars to look this cute? Maybe…

I almost feel bad for talking trash about electric vehicles when there are so many reasons they’re better to drive than traditional fossil-fuel burning cars. I have to say, there are a lot of bland, boring ones, and even a number of totally hot ones! Do you have a favorite goofy-looking electric car? Which ones have kind of grown on you lately?

A Green Reva electric car Introduction to Israel

So what you think about new Reva NXR ????


ANS- LOL...