'Human-Electric' Hybrid Car Goes 30 MPH Uphill

Analysis by Alyssa Danigelis Sat Aug 14, 2010 08:03 PM ET

Fred Flintstone could only dream of such a car. The HumanCar Imagine PS, a four-seater vehicle that uses hand cranks, can take on hills at 30 miles per hour, exceed 60 mph on flat terrain and is expected to hit the market next year.

HumanCar is the self-funded brainchild of Charles Samuel Greenwood, an engineer who has been working on developing the perfect human-powered vehicle since the late 1960s. Now, it looks like his car is actually getting somewhere. According to Autoblog Green, the lightweight Imagine PS is street legal and, if four people are cranking inside, can run on human power alone. "PS" stands for "power station," naturally. Based in Eugene, Ore., HumanCar Inc. is preparing to start producing the car.

The vehicle has electric plug-in capabilities, so it can still run if only one person is operating the hand-crank in a rowing-like motion (see the video showing the action, below). When four people are all rowing, it can run on human power alone. This thing is truly a "human-electric" hybrid. The chassis is adaptable, and can work with different kinds of batteries and technology in the future without requiring an entirely new vehicle.

Getting it going looks a little bit like those wind-up toys: a few front-to-back pulls on the two-hand crank and it's ready to take off. Despite the physical requirement, the company says online that a senior citizen in decent shape could handle it and paraplegics have made suggestions on adaptability. The sleek vehicle could use a larger windshield, although there is apparently an all-weather shell available. Airbags are on the list to be included in future models. In the meantime, I'd probably wear a helmet while driving it.

Others have been hard at work on human powered cars, too. The American Society ASME runs an annual international Human Powered Vehicle Challenge, where students build aerodynamic vehicles. Next month teams will compete in Venezuela. Based on speed-endurance events that took place this year, the vehicles' top speeds are closing in on 20 miles per hour.

Higher speeds make the Imagine PS impressive. I can hardly get any miles per hour going uphill on a bike. Zooming uphill using my own energy looks so much more enjoyable. The car will cost $15,500 when it goes on sale next year, according to the HumanCar site. Potential owners can put down a refundable $50 placeholder for when the vehicles become available. So far, the company says it has 100 pre-orders and that production will begin when they reach 800.

I like that getting somewhere in a car could require more physical activity, as well as encourage teamwork and carpooling. Maybe these kinds of vehicles are the answer to both our energy and our health problems. At the very least, the car seems like more fun than those circular contraptions that tourists pedal through Times Square.

In addition, seeing that range anxiety remains an issue with pure-electric vehicles, I think major automakers should consider adding a backup human power mechanism. Then if the juice runs out far from a plug, the vehicle could be cranked back into action. Kind of like the early days of the automobile.

The video below, which probably wasn't intended to be as funny as I found it, shows Greenwood operating a test version of his vehicle on the road. Now that's what I call a muscle car.

From Discovery News

California Will Set The Tone On Electric Cars For The Nation

Submitted by SHNS on Wed, 08/11/2010
By MARK GLOVER, Sacramento Bee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The electric car future that seemed so exotic and so distant just a few years ago is here, and California will again set the tone for the industry and the rest of the nation.

Long the nation's top auto market -- 10 percent to 12 percent of new-car sales nationwide are made in California -- the state is even more of a leader in environmentally friendly vehicles.

"In California, you have the sheer numbers, but much beyond that is the high concentration of early adopters in terms of technology and environmentally friendly (auto) purchasers," said Jesse Toprak, analyst for Santa Monica-based TrueCar.com.

Better than one of every five Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid sedans sold in the United States is bought in California. From the vehicle's 2000 introduction through July, that's 231,399 and counting.

Electric autos are the next step in the evolutionary chain. Before the end of this year, two of the most promising will be in Golden State showrooms -- the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf.

General Motors just announced that its Volt plug-in electric hybrid sedan will be available in November, priced at $41,000.

California is ground zero in the Volt rollout. Motor Trend magazine calls the Volt "the most significant new Chevy ever" -- remarkable for a nameplate that birthed the Corvette, the Camaro and the Impala.

"It's not only important by itself, it's important for what that technology might mean to GM in the future," Toprak said.

"If GM can replicate the (Volt) technology into different categories of vehicles, including SUVs and trucks, that will be a game-changer."

An on-board 110-volt charger allows the Volt to be recharged externally from standard household power in about 12 to 14 hours. With a 240-volt charger, it will take four hours.

With a fully charged lithium-ion battery, the Volt can go 40 miles on electric power alone. Theoretically, if you have a 30-mile daily commute and recharge the Volt nightly, you won't use a drop of gasoline.

In a major advance from previous electric car technology, the Volt also goes long distance. When its battery runs low, a gas-fueled engine/generator extends driving range an additional 300 miles. The gas engine does not drive the wheels; it replenishes the battery.

The Volt also will have early debuts in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Michigan and Texas.

But the automaker considers the California introduction most critical.

Here's why: Rival Toyota's Prius had a whopping 54.9 percent share of sales in the state's hybrid segment in 2009, according to Lexington, Ky.-based Cross-Sell, which tracks the U.S. car market.

By comparison, GM's top vehicle in the segment, the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid SUV, had a 0.7 percent share.

Toyota also leads GM in overall car sales in California.

In 2009, out of slightly more than 1 million new-car title registrations statewide, including fleet sales, Toyota's market share was 24.5 percent. GM's share was 11.6 percent.

Simply put, GM is getting thrashed by Toyota in the nation's No. 1 car market. It's hoping to change that with the Volt.

The Volt, however, will not have a clear run of the field. The new Nissan Leaf five-door hatchback electric will roll into California within weeks of the Volt, probably in December.

The Leaf can be recharged only from an external power source, such as the 240-volt system, and it will have a range of up to 100 miles. At that point, you have to recharge it.

Starting at $32,780, a federal tax credit of $7,500 would drop the Leaf's price to $25,280. The same credit on a $41,000 Volt translates to $33,500. The Leaf's price could be further reduced by a $5,000 tax credit the state offers on all-electric vehicles. The Volt does not qualify due to its small gas engine.

GM has been slammed by some for pricing the Volt too high. Some auto analysts agree, but others say the Volt is fairly priced, given the time and technology invested by GM.

John O'Dell, senior editor of GreenCarAdvisor.com called GM's price "a bold one that will reward the company if it works, because it means the Volt likely will be sold for something close to what it costs to build and won't be straining GM's red-ink supply."

Beyond price, GM and Nissan are matching each other deal for deal: GM is offering a $350-a-month, 36-month Volt lease with $2,500 down. Nissan's Leaf lease offer is $349 a month over 36 months with $1,995 down.

Both automakers are offering eight-year, 100,000-mile battery warranties.

Must credit Sacramento Bee

From scrippsnews

AT&T Switching To Hybrids, Alternative-Fuel Vehicles

By D.R. STEWART World Staff Writer
Published: 8/10/2010 7:30 PM
Last Modified: 8/10/2010 7:30 PM

AT&T Inc. has begun retiring gasoline-powered vehicles in its corporate fleet in a 10-year, $565 million program aimed at replacing 15,000 vehicles with alternative fuel models.

Six new 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid cars have been delivered to AT&T offices in Tulsa, and they are among 16 hybrid cars joining AT&T’s fleet across Oklahoma in recent weeks, said executives of the nation’s largest telecommunications company.

In 2009, AT&T Oklahoma announced the delivery of 30 compressed natural gas vans to its fleet in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The CNG initiative was encouraged by tax incentives for alternative fuel vehicles developed by the Legislature, officials said.

AT&T announced earlier this year the deployment of the 2,000th alternative fuel vehicle and 1,500th CNG vehicle in its corporate fleet, making the AT&T CNG fleet one of the nation’s largest.

“Since last year, AT&T has been replacing its older-model vehicles with new hybrid cars and service vans powered by compressed natural gas,” said Mike Cooper, area manager of external affairs. “We’re excited about the opportunities this initiative provides to reduce our carbon emissions and lower our company’s overall fuel costs.”

Alternative fuel vehicles comprise a small fraction of the U.S. vehicle fleet. In 2008, the latest year for which there are complete statistics, there were 255.9 million registered vehicles in the United States, said the Department of Transportation.

Of the total U.S. vehicle fleet, fewer than 800,000 were alternative fuel vehicles, said the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative
Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center.

Richard Kolodziej, president of Natural Gas Vehicles for America in Washington, D.C., said AT&T’s move to compressed natural gas vans makes sense economically, environmentally and from a national security perspective.

“We produce 85 percent of the natural gas we use, and most of the rest we get from Canada,” Kolodziej said. “In 2030, the Energy Information Administration says we will be producing 98 percent of the natural gas we use. We will be, basically, energy independent with respect to natural gas.”

A website, CNGPrices.com, reports CNG prices at $1.24 a gallon at Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Muskogee, Bartlesville, Ponca City and Miami, Okla.

With 180,000 gasoline stations nationwide but only about 1,500 CNG stations, there isn’t the infrastructure in place to support widespread public use of CNG vehicles, industry officials said.

“But if you concentrate on return-to-home vehicles … point-to-point vehicles, and put a station on either end and service that fleet, you don’t need a national network,” Kolodziej said. “It may cost you a third more for natural gas trucks. If you’re saving $1 per gallon, you can pay for it in 2?½ years.”

AT&T estimates purchasing about 8,000 CNG vehicles over a five-year period at a projected cost of $350 million. The company expects to pay an additional $215 million through 2018 to replace 7,100 fleet passenger cars with alternative fuel models.

The Center for Automotive Research estimates AT&T’s alternative fuel vehicle initiative will save 49 million gallons of gasoline over 10 years while reducing carbon emissions by 211,000 metric tons. The carbon emission reduction is equivalent to removing 147,929 passenger vehicles from the nation’s highways for a year, the center said.

“The deployment of our 2,000th alternative fuel vehicle is a significant milestone in an ongoing effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Jerome Webber, AT&T’s vice president of fleet operations. “To continue making progress, we are working with our suppliers and local municipalities to encourage the expansion of support infrastructure, which would allow the introduction of more fuel efficient vehicles in communities around the U.S.”

Kolodziej, the natural gas vehicle organization executive, said alternative fuel vehicles’ advantages will grow with time.

“All the forecasters say that when the recession is over, gas prices are going to skyrocket,” Kolodziej said. “Meanwhile, natural gas prices will remain relatively flat because of its availability.”

From Tulsa World