Posts Tagged ‘2010’

Filed under: Sedan, Lexus, Reviews, Luxury

The entry-level luxury sedan segment doesn’t command the enthusiast attention of, say, the ultra-premium luxury sports sedan. But if you ask automakers to choose between the two, we’d wager that most would rather have a best-in-class ,000 sedan than a world-beating ,000 sports tourer.

The reason? Very few fortunes are made selling a few thousand highfalutin’ rocket launchers, but bottom lines can easily be bolstered or crippled based on the success or failure of a plush, high-volume cruiser. Luxury marques from Acura to Volvo have experienced varied levels of success at the low end of the luxury market, but few have enjoyed the consistent sales dominance of the Lexus ES. In the past decade, Toyota has cranked out over 600,000 copies in the U.S. alone, with another 650,000 units shipped around the world. And those sales have traditionally been overwhelmingly of the retail variety with little or no incentives. Not bad for what many consider a glorified Toyota Camry.

Enthusiasts take note: Lexus didn’t reach such lofty sales levels with a rear-wheel-drive architecture or pavement-punishing quantities of horsepower. The road map to success for the ES has been simple: a soft, compliant ride; a pampering interior; and unmatched quality. The fifth-generation ES350 has built nicely on those attributes with smoother power, a quieter cabin and more technology. But the competition is still striving to overtake the ES in sales, so Lexus has gone and given its top-selling sedan a mid-cycle refresh for 2010. We spent a week in a Starfire Pearl ES350 to see if it still had the goods to remain a top option in the entry-level luxury segment.

Photos by Chris Shunk / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Lexus ES 350 is soft-riding royalty that’s lost its crown

Review: 2010 Lexus ES 350 is soft-riding royalty that’s lost its crown originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, On Two Wheels, Plug In Conference

One of the few passenger vehicles on the floor of the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, CA – actually, the only one – that we hadn’t yet seen in the metal was the Arcimoto Pulse, which we first met digitally last fall. The Pulse is a battery-powered three-wheeler that uses ten 12V lead acid batteries to go up to 40 miles per charge. Pulse’s Eric Fritz told AutoblogGreen that longer-range versions with lithium-ion batteries and can go either 80 or 160 miles will be available in the future, but he’s busy getting the base model ready for now. Prices for those premium models hasn’t been set, but you’ll be able to get the lead acid version for ,500 when it goes on sale either late this year or early next year. Fritz said Arcimoto has gotten 25 pre-order deposits (for 0 each) and has a list with another hundred-plus interested people.

The vehicle we saw was the third-generation prototype; the fourth was being tested on the streets last weekend. Fritz said he expects there to be one more prototype built before production begins. Overall, the Pulse has been in development for two-and-a-half years, and it’s been a self-funded affair thus far. One reason to be at the conference, Fritz said, was that Arcimoto is actively looking for funding.

The Pulse was part of the Drive Oregon booth, which also featured the Barefoot Motors ATV and vehicle chargers from Shorepower and OP Connect. With some strong local support for plug-in vehicles, there’s a lot of home-grown plug-in work going on in Oregon.

Photos by Sebastian Blanco / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Plug-In 2010: Drive Oregon chills with Arcimoto Pulse, Barefoot Motors ATV originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Plug In Conference

Bill Nye, “The Science Guy,” Jessie Deeter, the producer of Who Killed The Electric Car? and Revenge of the Electric Car, and our own Chelsea Sexton took to the stage at the close of public night at the Plug-in 2010 Conference. With this line-up, it was more than 66 percent the same as last year, when Nye, Sexton and Electric Car director Chris Paine answered audience questions. Given the “preaching to the choir,” audience-led nature of the event, we thought there would probably be a lot of readers who would want to “attend,” digitally, so we’re posting an audio recording of the entire two-hour event after the jump. What does it contain?

How about a short preview (verbal, not video) of Revenge of the Electric Car? Deeter said that the film will focus on three main stories: General Motors and the Chevrolet Volt, Tesla Motors, Nissan and the Leaf and electric car mechanic Gadget. How about the panelists’ predictions of the percentage of new cars that are plug-ins by 2020? Nye said he doesn’t think it’ll be 10 percent, Sexton said it’ll totally be determined by how many the OEMs are willing to build. How about lots of disparaging comments about adding sound to silent electric cars? How about Nye calling lithium supply worries the “reddest of herrings”? How about one member of the audience proudly saying he’s been driving an EV1 since 1998, and Nye replying, “You must be exhausted”? Zing! All these classics and more await you after the jump.

Continue reading Plug-In 2010: Bill Nye, Chelsea Sexton return for public night panel

Plug-In 2010: Bill Nye, Chelsea Sexton return for public night panel originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Company Mopar – department of Chrysler, which specializes in revision of the car group and the production of accessories – officially presented a special modification of the model Dodge Challenger. In total, planned to release only 500 cars in this version.

Novelty is based on Dodge Challenger in version R / T with the eight petrol engine 5.7-liter HEMI volume. From a standard car special modification differs by a large air intake on the bonnet, which was also installed additional locks, a system of cold air inlet, stretching racks, grille-covered “black chrome”, a unique engine cover, as well as many nameplates with the company logo Mopar.

The car will be painted entirely in black. The stripes on the sides of the bus can be performed in one of three colors: blue, red or silver. Also, a special modification of the Challenger will get a different interior trim, including leather seat trim Katzkin and coarse stitching steering wheel. In addition, the coupe will be offered for 20-inch alloy wheels, painted black, a special “wrap” a vehicle, a certificate showing the number of machines and drawing special version Challenger, signed by chief designer Mark Trostla Chrysler Group.

Dodge Challenger special edition will cost in the U.S. – 38 thousand dollars (per car with automatic transmission) and 39 thousand dollars (for a modification to the “mechanics”).

Cool Cars

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Plug In Conference

Trying to wrap your head around what, exactly, Evatran is offering with its proximity charging system isn’t easy for someone without a good grasp of plug-in vehicle charging technology. Even then, the company’s wireless charging system, on display at at the Plug-In 2010 Conference in San Jose, CA this week, isn’t the easiest thing to understand. On the one hand, we can just say the Plugless Power devices is a way to charge your electric vehicle without bothering with a cord and a plug. On the other hand, this isn’t traditional inductive charging. The technology uses induction theory along with wireless technology but, since it’s unlike anything else on the market, Evatran calls it “proximity charging.”

The Plugless Power system uses a parking block and a shoebox-sized vehicle adapter that needs to be installed under the car ahead of the front wheels. The block contains a transmitter that can move within the box and and thus get as close as possible to the receiver on the car. The distance should be around two inches max in order to send the electricity to the vehicle. If it’s out of range, the system’s tower – tall and visible from inside the vehicle – will warn the driver to repark before it will power up the vehicle. It won’t send out a low-efficiency charge if the transmitters are, say, six inches apart. You can compare it to digital radio that just cuts out when it’s out of range instead of a traditional FM signal that gets weaker and weaker the further away the tower is.

This December, the company will release its first-generation model, which, kind of ironically, uses a cord. This unit will provide Level 2 (240 volt, 32 amp) charge through a J1772 connector. These units will cost around ,000 and can be upgraded to the wireless units for another 0 when those become available in April 2011 (installation fees extra). Installing the receiver in the vehicle will cost around 0, but that’s not officially set, yet, so this isn’t a cheap set-up. Thankfully, if you like the idea of wireless charging, it is eligible for the ,000 in government incentives. Evatran is taking orders for the first-gen units now, but the price to just straight-up buy a plugless unit was not announced. Evatran will offeri a one-year warranty on the units.

While recharging without any extra work is appealing, there’s a big problem with Plugless Power’s unit. Specifically, it’s not 100 percent effective. Evatran’s Rebecca Hough said that the company is targeting a 90 percent efficiency rate before releasing the product (right now, they’re around 80 percent). While that’s pretty amazing considering you’re sending energy through the air, it also means that your electric vehicle automatically becomes less efficient with proximity charging than it would be with a cord. Yes, there are transmission losses along the grid, but when you take 10 percent away right before the energy gets to the car, that’s a real shame.

Still, wireless recharging is a technology that bears watching, whether it comes from Evatran or Intel or whoever. Evatran looks like it’ll be a player – it is working on getting UL listed and is talking with OEMs and niche players to have wireless chargers being an option at the time you buy a vehicle. The company started researching the idea 18 months ago, came to Plug In 2009 and, two months ago, got .25 million from the state of Virginia’s Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization program. So, things are moving fast, and we’ll try to keep up.

[Source: Plugless Power]

Plug-In 2010: Evatran’s Plugless Power parking block puts proximity charging under your car originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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