LA is on the Formula E schedule next year, electric racer hits the streets to celebrate

Mayor Villaraigosa Welcomes Formula E Electric Car Racing to Los Angeles on Earth Day

Crowds treated to street demonstration of all-electric race car to celebrate the city playing host to world's first fully-electric race in 2014

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa officially welcomed the FIA Formula E Championship to Los Angeles today, on Earth Day, becoming one of 10 global cities to host the world's first fully-electric Formula E race, commencing in 2014.

"We are very thankful to the Mayor and the authorities for the enthusiastic welcome they have given our Championship and are honoured to have Los Angeles on board to host Formula E and share our passion for promoting sustainable motoring"
Formula E is a new FIA championship that brings electric vehicle racing to the people, as city centres around the world play host to an electric energy World Championship designed to promote interest and investment in electric vehicles and sustainable motoring.

Los Angeles was selected to host one of the races by Championship promoters Formula E Holdings in part due to its robust and burgeoning electric vehicle infrastructure, in particular Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (LADWP) Electric Vehicle Program. Additional cities already chosen to host races include Miami; London and Rome in Europe; Beijing and Putrajaya in Asia; and, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janiero in South America, with two locations to be announced.

"By hosting Formula E Championship races here, we ensure our place as a leader in the charge to generate awareness for electric vehicles and their benefits," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "By selecting Los Angeles as the site of their Championship races, Formula E Holdings brings international attention to our City's electric vehicle infrastructure programs and increased tourism revenue to our City."

To date, the City has made significant advancements to prepare for and encourage the wider use of electric vehicles. Los Angeles has upgraded or installed 121 public electric vehicle charging stations, streamlined the permitting process necessary to upgrade electrical panels in homes and businesses, and issued rebates for in-home electric charger equipment and installation fees as part of their 'Charge Up LA' program.

"We are very thankful to the Mayor and the authorities for the enthusiastic welcome they have given our Championship and are honoured to have Los Angeles on board to host Formula E and share our passion for promoting sustainable motoring," said Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E Holdings. "Los Angeles' iconic landmarks provide a perfect backdrop to bring to life the excitement of Formula E racing, while at the same time, inspiring people to believe in the electric vehicle for their own personal use. The LA race is also going to have a real positive impact on the City by creating many new job opportunities together with considerable amounts in visitor spending and of course a great sense of community pride."

The Los Angeles Formula E race is planned to take place on city streets in downtown LA although a number of routes are still being considered. Ten teams with two drivers each will participate in the races, which last approximately one hour using fully electric cars capable of reaching speeds of more than 140mph (220kph) with zero emissions.

"Los Angeles is the car capital of the world, and it's fast becoming the EV capital of the world," Ron Nichols, LADWP General Manager, added. "We are very excited to have the Formula E Championship here and to showcase the city's achievements in expanding EV charging infrastructure and promoting EV use among our customers."

As part of the event today, crowds were treated to a display along Hope Street of the Formula E car adorned in an American flag design and driven by ex-Formula 1 racer and official Formula E test driver Lucas di Grassi.

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By: Unknown On 6:06 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: Ekinoid, HDlive ultrasound and the world's lightest electric vehicle

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

It's been an exciting week for green building as Inhabitat reported that some of the world's top architects unveiled plans for high-tech developments with light environmental footprints. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) won an international design competition for Europa, a new green-roofed city outside of Paris. Construction began last week on a new solar-powered stadium for the Euro 2016 football championship designed by Herzog & de Meuron. San Francisco celebrated the reopening of the Exploratorium this week in a new net-zero building along the city's waterfront. In Mexico City, a helipad on the roof of an office building was converted into a co-working space with a gorgeous rooftop garden. And we also profiled the Ekinoid, a spherical, self-sufficient home that sits on stilts and is built to withstand disaster.

In an announcement that's sure to turn the electric car market on its head, Fiat announced that its new all-electric 2013 500e would sell for as little as $20,500, after incentives and rebates are included. In other green transportation news, Boosted Boards unveiled the world's lightest electric vehicle (spoiler alert: it's a skateboard). Outrider USA has launched a line of electric, three-wheeled recumbent bikes that can hit speeds of up to 40 MPH. Electric carmaker Fisker Automotive is in serious trouble, as lawsuits and debts pile up. And the all-electric SportStar EPOS airplane made its first 30-minute flight this week.

Scientists continued to make amazing advances in renewable energy technology. A South Korean team engineered a novel device that uses both sunlight and vibrations to generate energy. Scientists in Illinois developed a tiny lithium-ion battery that is 2,000 times more powerful than rival batteries and can charge 1,000 times faster. Meanwhile, researchers in Switzerland are using tiny tin nanocrystals to develop lithium-ion batteries that can store twice as much energy. Wind power is on the rise as well -- a new report finds that the US added 6,700 new turbines across the country in 2012, boosting capacity by 28 percent.

In other green design news, we've been reporting live from the Milan Furniture Fair, where designers unveiled gorgeous super-energy-efficient lights at the 2013 Euroluce exhibition. Also at Milan Design Week, designer Tobias Tøstesen unveiled an amazing oversized chandelier made from 8,000 Lego bricks. Electronics giant Panasonic celebrated its 100th anniversary by donating 100,000 solar lanterns to people who lack access to electricity in developing countries. GE unveiled its new HDlive ultrasound, which shows startlingly clear 3D images of babies in utero. Researchers at the Sheffield Centre for Robotics developed a vibrating "tactile helmet" that helps firefighters navigate in the dark, and for Earth Day (April 22nd), we've rounded up a list of six fun and meaningful ways to celebrate the Earth without plundering your wallet.

 

By: Unknown On 9:12 PM

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Fiat-Chrysler CEO says governments shouldn't 'strong arm' automakers into producing electric vehicles

Fiat may now be producing electric vehicles, but CEO Sergio Marchionne apparently doesn't think they represent the future for the automaker just yet -- or, at least, the only future. Speaking at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit yesterday, Marchionne said that his company is losing $10,000 on every 500e car sold (a figure he first offered fully two years ago), and added that "doing that on a large scale would be masochism in its extreme." Those comments came as part of a larger point he was making about the push towards electric vehicles, and what he described as "strong arm" tactics from governments promoting EVs over other alternatives. Instead of "rushing into embracing EVs as the only technological solution," he says, "government can help drive best results by remaining technology neutral." As for what Chrysler itself is looking at beyond EVs, Marchionne pointed to traditional engine improvements and alternative fuels like natural gas, which he says is the "cleanest alternative available in terms of emissions."

Via: Auto Spies

Source: The Windsor Star, Detroit Free Press

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By: Unknown On 11:29 PM

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Taking the US-bound Smart Electric Drive for a spin (video)

The eponymous "Smart car" has been buzzing around city streets in the US for over five years now. It's actually called the Fortwo, thanks to its limited seating capacity, and while it didn't prove to be an immediate hit, sales have been steadily increasing. An electric version of the car has been available in limited numbers overseas for years now, but finally this year it's coming to the US. And this is it. We got a chance to drive a green vinyl-wrapped Smart Electric Drive around some city streets ahead of the opening of the New York International Auto Show and came away reasonably impressed by this $25,000 EV -- the cheapest on the market. Join us after the break for our impressions. Smart Electric Drive test driveSee all photos

It's worth noting that the EV version of the Smart Fortwo has been available in Europe for a few years now, but Smart is only now seeing fit to ship it to the US. Thankfully, it's doing it in a big way. Starting this spring, the Smart Electric Drive will hit limited US dealers before spreading through the rest of the country through the summer, meaning regardless where you live you'll be able to buy one -- eventually. And, at $25,000 (not including the $7,500 tax credit), this is an EV your average driver can actually afford.

That said, it's probably not offering enough range to be everyone's primary car. With just a 68 mile combined range you won't be able to do much road-tripping, but for running about in the city and short commutes it should be just fine. And, for those duties it's quite well suited. The car lacks the kind of power needed to be an overtaking master on the highway, it accelerates quickly away from a stop and has plenty of torque to make it a fun little thing to drive.

That said, the driving experience wasn't all joy. The amount of regenerative braking, which slows the car and charges the battery when you lift off the gas, isn't adjustable like it is in the Chevy Volt or the Audi A3 e-tron. However, light application of the brake will temporarily boost regeneration. Push harder and you'll get a very unsatisfactory feel. The brake pedal is unusually stiff, like stepping on a block of wood, which does not equate to good feedback. It does, at least, stop well enough.

Did we mention the size? The Smart Electric Drive is incredibly tiny, just like its Fortwo predecessor, which makes it ridiculously easy to park and make your way through the urban slalom without breaking a sweat. It's also available as a convertible, the only drop-top production EV in the US.

If you're convinced, Smart will be happy to take your pre-order information now, but we'd recommend taking a long, hard look at your driving needs before signing anything. You can get up to about 75 miles if you drive carefully, but even that isn't far.

Tags: electricdrive, ev, fortwo, impressions, mercedes, mercedes-benz, preview, smart, smartelectricdrive

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By: Unknown On 10:50 PM

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Alt-week 12.15.12: rivers on Titan, electric handcuffs and crashing into the moon

Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days.

Space, it's the final frontier, where no-one can hear you scream in frustration at not knowing who the villain of Star Trek: Into Darkness is, as well as where 50 percent of our stories take place this week. NASA's planning to crash satellites into the moon, someone's patented an electo-shock handcuff and there's a river on Titan that you wouldn't want to canoe-down. This is alt-week.

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By: Dilusha On 7:31 PM

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Minus the Bear: Get Me Naked 2: The Electric Boogaloo

This story will display in ...Nov 25, 2012 8:00 PM  

This Thanksgiving, I did something a lot of us do on most holidays; I took a long drive. It's always key to have the right soundscape for your holiday travels whether it be podcasts, audiobooks, or music. If you're looking for driving tunes, Minus the Bear's "Get Me Naked 2: The Electric Boogaloo" is up there.

Really it's the whole album—Highly Refined Pirates—that's ideal for driving, but this song is one of the best. The chilled-out guitar tapping is just vamp-y enough to easy you into that relaxed sort of driving-meditation, and just puts you in a great mood to be sailing down the road. And while sophisticated, meaning-laden lyrics are great sometimes, Highly Refined Pirates packs some of the most wonderfully inconsequential lyrics, the lyrical equivalent of delicious-yet-empty calories. "Spritz!!! Spritz!!!" for example is literally just about driving.

Minus the Bear has gone on to make plenty other albums that are of varying quality depending on who you talk to, but Highly Refined Pirates stands out as a classic chillout record, and "Get Me Naked 2: The Electric Boogaloo," awkward name aside, is a great place to hop in. [Amazon, Spotify, iTunes]

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By: Dilusha On 4:13 PM

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