Toyota and Tesla!

Toyota and Tesla announced yesterday that they would be cooperating on development of electric vehicles and components. In addition, Tesla will be buying the old NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA, where they will produce the new Model S sedan.

Despite Tesla recruiting executives from automotive firms, there has been criticism that the start-up electric car manufacturer lacks automotive experience. This deal with Toyota should silence most of the naysayers, and the combination of Toyota's legendary engineering and production skill coupled with Elon Musk's entrepreneurial spirit should result in both amazing advances in vehicle technology as well as reduction in the cost of EVs.

Read more about it here:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/tesla-motors-and-toyota-motor-159048.aspx

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_15131686?nclick_check=1

This is exactly the sort of venture that will create real jobs and develop technology that will launch the next generation of autos.

Thomas Friedman's constant refrain that we need to innovate our way out of this crisis is right on the money. Instead of bailing out arrogant companies that will never learn, the federal government should be funding basic science research that inspires and enables the next generation of technology breakthroughs.

China's Plug-In Hybrid!

BYD Auto in ShenZhen is now selling the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid. Read more about it here. The quality remains to be seen, but kudos to BYD for beating GM and even Toyota to the market. I posted about this before on October 14.

For some more EV fun, and a look at a very cool American-made, fully-electric car (unfortunately no longer made), check out these earlier posts (here, and here) on the Corbin Sparrow. My friend owns this one. It's nice to drive, and certainly attracts attention!

China's Electric Car

China Economic Review pointed me to this article in the WSJ: "China's BYD to Begin Selling Electric Car Next Month." It's not likely that such a vehicle would pass US safety tests, and certainly US consumers have a much higher expectation for quality and service than their Chinese counterparts, but you have to be seriously impressed by the amazingly fast time to market. I hope this little car is a resounding success! Apparently, a company largely owned by Warren Buffett, MidAmerica Energy Holdings, has made a significant investment, so it seems there's some real promise here.

Corbin Sparrow in Action

Allow me for a day to return to the topic of electric vehicles, especially the cute little Corbin Sparrow, which I blogged about on July 21. Recently, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle online edition did a video of my friend's Sparrow in action. Check it out!!

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=rocearthvideo

Scroll to the botton of the page for the video on 'Electric Car.'

I drove this car after we put it back together, and it was fantastic!! I could definitely see commuting in this.

Chevy Volt, Tesla, EV Controversy?

Allow me one more day to muse about electric vehicles, please, before I turn my attention back to China sourcing. There's been much written lately about electric vehicles (EVs), particularly the Chevrolet Volt and the Tesla roadster. For more information, check them out here:

http://www.chevy-volt.net/chevrolet-volt-specs.htm

http://www.teslamotors.com/

The heart of the story is the assertion by Elon Musk that the bridge to full electric vehicles will be short, given the inherent flaws of hybrids (neither good with electricity or with gas). Read more here: http://www.blog.speculist.com/archives/001788.html

The other side (well, not really a controversy, or the other side, just a slightly different read on a great topic, but hey, words like controversy are so lame-stream media, one has to use them) is more in favor of continuing a hybrid-type drive train -- essentially full battery operation with internal combustion range-extender, or battery chargers. Nice article here: http://www.autobloggreen.com/tag/chevrolet+volt/

For another fun read, check out this interview with Elon Musk: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june08/musk_06-25.html

Enjoy, and tomorrow, we talk about China!

Corbin Sparrow

I've always been interested in alternative energy. In fact, my first job was as a research engineer, and many of the projects I worked on involved using hydrogen and hydrogen blends in internal combustion engines. It was very interesting stuff!!

Anyway, I had a great weekend, because one of my good friends invited me over to help get his Corbin Sparrow back on the road. We installed a new set of batteries and a newly rebuild motor! What a great little vehicle! Check out the pictures below, and to learn more, visit http://corbinsparrow.com/index.html