WomanOnWheels.ca

Mitsubishi's electric i-MiEV: Not cheap, but it's fun

I drove the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV for a few days. It has the usual electric-car limitations, including its battery range and a relatively high price, even if it is currently the least-expensive in the country. But I was surprised to find that it was a lot of fun to drive. Read all about it at Sympatico Autos by clicking here.

The AJAC Eco-Run: What we learned about driving

Part of the AJAC Eco-Run was to present new fuel-saving technologies from the automakers; the other part was to show us the considerable difference that can be made in fuel economy if you drive the car properly. I have a wrap-up in the Toronto Star on the event - read all about it by clicking here.

The AJAC Eco-Run: All wrapped up, and lots of fuel saved!

The AJAC Eco-Run has wrapped up, after three days of journalists driving 22 cars with fuel-saving technology from Brighton to London, Ontario. But it wasn't just about the technology - it was also about the way that we drove them.

According to Natural Resources Canada, which crunched our numbers each night, 70% of us achieved or bettered the vehicles' published fuel figures. After we got a pep talk, and changed our driving habits somewhat, we got up to 80%. At the end of the event today, we were told that all of the vehicles were now meeting or beating the fuel figures. And the best part is that, even if you can't afford or don't want a new vehicle, you can make changes in your habits that will get better mileage in any vehicle - and for free!

Don't forget to check out the Toronto Star's blog, to which I contributed during the run. Find it by clicking here.

The Eco-Run: How you drive makes a difference (of course!)

It's the beginning of the third and last day of the AJAC Eco-Run. The cars are stored at McMaster University, where we'll begin the day's drive. That photo, taken yesterday at the university, shows the sun coming out just as we were finishing, following a day of downpours.

Of the 22 cars on the event, NRCan was able to give us immediate feedback on 14 of them. On the first leg, 70 per cent of them matched or exceeded their published fuel figures. After we got a pep talk on driving habits, that increased to 80 per cent.

Really, while these new fuel-saving technologies are important, you're still not going to get good mileage if you're a NASCAR wannabe. Where you drive is important - we all got poorer mileage on a long stretch of stop-and-go city traffic. But if you accelerate gently, maintain a steady speed, anticipate traffic, coast to decelerate, and avoid high speeds - the five tips Nature Resources Canada gave us - you'll see a difference at the pumps. I got 6.8 L/100 km in a Porsche Panamera Hybrid!

Day Two of the Eco-Run is about to begin!

I'm getting ready to start Day Two of the Eco-Run, an initiative by the Automobile Journalists of Canada (AJAC) to drive cars with fuel-saving technologies and to get the best mileage out of any vehicle. We're driving over three days from Brighton to London in Ontario.

I'm also filing a blog at the Toronto Star, along with writers Jim Kenzie and Gary Grant. Check it out by clicking here.

Brighton to London: I'm part of the Eco Run

I'm looking forward to three days of driving - but using as little fuel as possible. It's the Brighton to London Eco Run, sponsored by the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), of which I'm a member.

There are 23 journalists involved, and we'll be driving vehicles of all sorts, from electric cars to a Mercedes-Benz AMG edition, to see how driving habits can make a difference. We'll be visiting universities to find out about ongoing research, including a look at a wind tunnel that can produce everything from a mild breeze to a snow white-out. I'll also be putting up stuff on the Toronto Star's blog, which you can follow by clicking here.

If cars are no fun ... we're to blame

After I wrote about an online driving test where the same score was a pass in Ontario and a failure in Germany, my brain went into overtime. And so I came up with a rant about driver responsibility, which I then put forth on Sympatico Autos. You can read it all by clicking here.

Electric cars: Light is might

Lighter vehicles get better fuel economy, but lightweight high-tech materials can be prohibitively expensive. BMW will be bringing out electric and hybrid cars that use carbon fibre in their structures, as the cost of the composite material is now able to offset the cost of the battery. You can read all about it in my Driving Force column in Metro by clicking here.

Driving an electric car to lunch? There's an app for that!

One of the drawbacks to an electric car is that once it runs out of juice, it's not going anywhere. And with the busy schedules many people have, that's going to present a problem.

Now, researchers at the University of Windsor have developed an application that combines your datebook and your car, determining if you have enough battery to get where you're going, when you should charge, and even if you should change your route. Read all about it in my Driving Force column in Metro by clicking here.

Electric or gasoline? What's best for your fleet?

Although electrified vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf are marketed to the public, the most likely place for any widespread adoption of alternative-fuel vehicles is with commercial fleets, for several reasons: they travel enough miles to make back the purchase price faster, the vehicles usually follow set routes and come back each night to a central depot where they can be charged, and any lower maintenance costs are always a bonus.

But how does a fleet operator know which type of propulsion to buy? There's a new product, FleetCarma, that plugs into a vehicle, tracks the type of use it's getting, and then uses sophisticated software to calculate what will work the best. There's a free trial offer for operators who want to try it out, too. You can read all about it in my article in Fleet Digest by clicking here.

Three days with the all-electric Nissan Leaf

I had the use of an all-electric Nissan Leaf for three days. I'd specifically booked it for December, to see how it behaved in cold weather, although the temperature remained unseasonably warm. Even so, it was interesting to bring home my first all-electric car for daily driving. The verdict: it's a hoot to drive, but yes, there is such a thing as range anxiety. Read all about it in Autos.ca by clicking here.

Charging your electric car: More than just plugging it in

You can bring home an electric car and just plug it into a wall outlet, but that isn't necessarily a good idea. At the very least you should have a dedicated circuit, and ideally, you should have a charging station that will reduce the length of time it takes. You can read all about it in my Driving Force column in Metro by clicking here.

Electric vehicle charging: Still working on the infrastructure

New products are usually a chicken-and-egg situation, and electric cars are no exception: without the cars there's no need for charging infrastructure, but if they can't charge them, people won't buy the cars. I asked Nissan about some of the challenges of getting charging systems ready to go. Read all about it in my Driving Force column in Metro by clicking here.

Electric vehicles: The future is challenging

 Some of the major automakers aren't just telling us about electric cars, they're putting them on the showroom floor. None of that comes without challenges, though, especially when it comes to keeping them charged.

I visited the EV 2011 Conference and Trade Show in Toronto, where I got to drive several of them and learn more about the electric future. You can read all about it in Autos.ca by clicking here.

The electric future is trucks: Ford's Transit Connect Electric

Electric cars are available, but I believe that electric trucks are really going to pave the way for this technology. You can find out why on my story on the Ford Transit Connect Electric - read all about it in Metro by clicking here.

Driving the electric Ford Transit Connect

Electric cars may be coming to market, but it's going to be electric trucks that really push the technology forward. I drove Ford's Transit Connect on battery power and you can read all about it on Autos.ca by clicking here.

Chevrolet Volt: It's the real deal

I read the good and the bad, I drove it a few times at low speeds, and while it seemed okay, I wasn't really sure if GM's slow-to-market Volt would be anything more than an expensive oddity.

Then I drove it, in the city and on the highway, on battery power and with its gasoline engine making electricity, for a day. It's still expensive, but it's no oddity. It's a very well-done car that does everything GM said it would. Maybe it even is the future of the auto industry. Read all about it in Autos.ca by clicking here.

Lithium-ion batteries: We need to work on recycling them

Lithium-ion batteries are big news in electric and hybrid cars, but at the moment, there's not really a lot of incentive to recycle them to extract and reuse the lithium within. Find out why in my Driving Force column in today's Metro by clicking here.

CTV talks about electric vehicles ...

 CTV News wanted an opinion on electric vehicles, and was kind enough to ask me. You can read Andy Johnson's story on Ford's push into electric cars by clicking here.

One million electric vehicles by 2015: Not as long as gas is cheap

The U.S. Department of Energy has released a new report, One Million Electric Vehicles by 2015, which backs up President Obama's stated goal of ... well, guess how many EVs will be on the road by what year. The report says that the goal is "ambitious" but "achievable." Of course, I wouldn't expect the report to conclude anything else, but I'm not buying it, not the way it's written. I'm certainly no expert, but I'm not seeing it.

First, there's the o'er-the-ramparts-we-watched aspect of it. "This is a race America can win," says DOE secretary David Sandalow, "if we answer the President's call to out-innovate, out-build, and out-compete the rest of the world."

Sure, you need the all-American aspect of it to lead the troops, and I'm the first to say that a country only becomes strong when it has a solid manufacturing base. America needs to build these vehicles at home. But as soon as you make it a race to beat everybody else, you've severed your ties with the people who can help you. The Japanese were building viable hybrids when American companies were still trying to figure out four-cylinder engines. Why start at the very beginning, when you can work in conjunction with people who know what they're doing? Contrary to popular redneck belief, Nissan won't be sending every penny it makes on the Leaf back to Japan. That cash will stay in Smyrna, Tennessee where the car will be built, going home with the workers, going into the local tax coffers, working its way into the community.

Getting plant capacity up to one million electric vehicles isn't a problem, the report says, and it's correct on that. We can probably pop out many more than that every year. What we can't do as easily is find people to buy them. So the government is offering a rebate of up to $7,500 on each one, and offering grants to communities that prioritize electric vehicle deployment.

The problem is that the government won't do the one thing that is needed to advance the deployment of electric vehicles - raise the price of gasoline. Because that will be political suicide, and everyone in Washington knows it.

Why do Europeans buy little cars with little engines? Because gasoline costs a fortune over there. As long as gasoline is cheap, people will buy the relatively inexpensive vehicles that use it, rather than the relatively expensive vehicles that don't. People do the math. If the premium on that electric or hybrid car is more than what it saves in fuel, most won't buy it. Despite the whole "green" movement, and sending children to school to learn about rain forests, and putting cans out to the curb for recycling, most people will put their coins ahead of their carbon footprint. If a car costs too much, it doesn't matter how little it spews out the exhaust pipe, if it has one at all.

I wonder what One Million Electric Vehicles by 2015 cost to produce. I could have saved them a bundle and written it up in the time it takes to say it: If you want people to buy alternative vehicles, raise the price of gas until it's worth their while. Sure, there will always be people who buy Volts or Leafs because they're cool and techy and neat. But as long as gas costs less than bottled water, it will be a long, long time, if ever, before you find a million of those folks willing to open their wallets.

The technology behind the Chevrolet Volt

In Metro, I have a short piece on the Chevrolet Volt and exactly how its electric motors and gasoline engine work together. You can find it by clicking here.

A look at GM's newest fuel savers

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, I had a chance to check out some of the new fuel-efficient vehicles from GM, including the Volt, Cruze Eco and Buick eAssist. You can find my report by clicking here.

Driving the plug-in Toyota Prius

I had a chance to cruise around Vancouver for an hour in a plug-in Toyota Prius test vehicle. You can read all about it by clicking here.

Driving the all-electric Mini E

BMW gave me the opportunity to drive the electric Mini E for an hour; you can read my report by clicking here.

The 2011 Smart, Brabus, and the Smart Electric

 Recently I travelled to Essen, Germany to check out the 2011 Smart. It's not as all-new as the company claims, but there are still some improvements; even better, I got to visit Brabus, and drive an all-electric version of this little urban runabout. You can read all about it in Canadian Driver by clicking here. 

Electric vehicles: Get to know your local dealer

There's an interesting item out on the news wire today from research firm Frost & Sullivan about hybrids and electric vehicles. In the chicken-and-egg situation that greets almost all new technology, it seems that OE dealers may be keeping their hands on these cars long after the warranty's up.

More than 40% of independent garages surveyed said they aren't equipped to service hybrids, while almost 60% can't fix or maintain electric vehicles (and those numbers are low enough that I'm suspicious about the ones who said they can). And since hybrids make up less than 3% of market share each year, no one's really running out and spending the time and money to learn all about them. Very importantly, the aftermarket parts companies - the ones that make the less-expensive components that most of us buy when the dealer wants three times their price for OEM - aren't tooling up to make hybrid- and EV-specific parts.

When the Prius was young, my friend and colleague Brian Early took a test-car version to a Toyota shop and had to show the guys there how to start it. All new ideas have to start somewhere and build gradually, but I think the early adopters may well be in for a somewhat bumpy ride. 

Technology: BMW's lithium-ion batteries

In today's Metro, I have a technology story on lithium-ion batteries, which you can find by clicking here. 

All that's wrong with tax credits on electrics ...

Jim Kenzie, my colleague at the Toronto Star, has a superb opinion piece in today's paper on tax credits and subsidies on electric vehicles. Everything I've always wanted to say, but could never hope to write as well as he has in this story. Check it out by clicking here.

Electric cars: A quick primer

On today's Canadian Driver, I have an overview of electric cars, including the differences between the various types. You can find it by clicking here.

A drive in the Chevrolet Volt, and a look at Sienna

In today's Toronto Star, I have a look at what it's like to drive the Chevrolet Volt -- a short trip, but a stint behind the wheel nevertheless. It can be found here.

I also have a review of the Toyota Sienna minivan, visible over here.

Chevy Volt and fuel cells: Electric power to the people!

I had quite the glimpse into the automotive future yesterday: I had the opportunity to drive both the Chevrolet Volt and Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicle in Vancouver.

I'll be officially reporting on the Volt in print shortly, but in the meantime, suffice to say that even for a short spin around Stanley Park, it was exciting to be at the wheel, just to get a look at what's coming. It's fun to read about technology, but it's even better to get a hands-on chance to experience it. 

Toronto Auto Show: A look at some of the cars

I have a few stories in the Toronto Star's special Toronto Auto Show section.

For the ecoENERGY fuel efficiency winners, click here.

For some of the SUVs that'll be on display, look here.

"Green" vehicles on display can be found over here.

And finally, a look at the safety features that manufacturers are putting into their advanced technology vehicles, available here.

Well, I got a charge out of it ...

I'm at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where General Motors announced that the Volt will go into production, and 100 will be built for the initial market.

To which I say, wouldn't 110 have been more appropriate...?

Toyota 4Runner, and a car that runs on whale oil

In today's Toronto Star, I have a look at the all-new 2010 Toyota 4Runner, which you can find by clicking here.

I also have an opinion piece on who really makes the decisions on environmentally-friendly vehicles -- including the whale oil and crushed kitten editions -- available here.

Six FAQs about hybrids

I have a short article in Metro on FAQs about hybrids. You can find it by clicking here.

Confused about hybrids? Here's some help ...

Last week I was in Vancouver with Toyota, where part of the event involved a comparison of the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Fusion Hybrid. My Toronto Star story, which dealt with the confusion buyers have about hybrids, can be found by clicking here.

The Saturn Astra, and the challenges of alternative fuels

In today's Toronto Star, I have a review of the Saturn Astra, which you can find by clicking here, and on the challenges of alternative fuel infrastructure, available over here.

Low gas prices: They're going to hurt as much as high ones

  

In my neck of the woods, gasoline prices have dropped to 73 cents per litre. That's the lowest it's been in many years, and half of what it hit during the summer.

And while I appreciate it when I'm pumping the stuff into my tank, I think that in the not-too-distant future, if it stays that way, it's going to create as much havoc as the high prices did.

Look at what happened: gas prices soared, and critics and the public pounded on the Detroit Three. Where are your small cars? Where are your hybrids? Why aren't you building what the public needs in the face of gas prices?

So General Motors rolled out the Volt, and announced that even in the face of possible bankruptcy, it would continue to spend research and development money to get it to market on schedule. Chrysler brought out three electric vehicle concepts and said it will choose one for production as early as next year. Ford brought out the Fusion Hybrid and has promised an electric car by 2011.

And they're not the only ones. Toyota's bringing Prius production to the U.S. Nissan has promised electric vehicles. Honda's got a fuel cell, a natural gas car, and a new hybrid is on its way. Mercedes has clean diesel, and BMW has hydrogen.

And then gas stays cheap. Memories are short. And buyers refuse to pay the premium for these vehicles, and they sit on the lots collecting dust -- while the critics and the letters-to-the-editor folks wonder why carmakers don't build the vehicles people want to buy.

The Volt: Look what it started

  Just a couple of weeks ago, General Motors unveiled the production model of the Chevrolet Volt, and now the floodgates have opened.

One of the three electric prototype models that Chrysler unveiled recently is an extended-range, meaning that, like the Volt, it runs on plug-in battery power and when that runs out, it goes to a gasoline engine that makes more electricity, rather than running the wheels itself. And at the Paris Motor Show today, Volvo announced that it will also have a similar vehicle, scheduled for production after 2012, which will run on battery power and then on gasoline to generate electricity.

So I wonder: did everyone have the same idea at the same time, or did automakers see the Volt concept unveiled in 2007, run to the drawing board, and then wait for the production model to be presented before making their own announcements? It sure seems odd that others are coming out with similar cars so quickly -- and very heartening, too.

GM's 100th anniversary: Another look

On Canadian Driver today, I have my second feature on GM's 100th anniversary celebration in Detroit, which includes a look at the production version of the Chevrolet Volt. It's available here.

Up today: GM's 100th, BMW 1 Series, Nissan Pathfinder

  I have three stories in today's Toronto Star. The cover is on GM's 100th anniversary, available here; I also have a review of the BMW 1 Series, found here, and the Nissan Pathfinder, over here.

I Am Curious (Electric)

  I saw the production Chevrolet Volt yesterday, just one of many plug-in electric or hybrid-electric vehicles that are being planned, from automakers including Nissan and Toyota.

The idea, the companies tell us, is that we'll be able to charge these electric vehicles during "off-peak" hours -- presumably in the evening -- when power requirements are low and prices go down.

But if we're all using air conditioning and lights and water heaters and electrical appliances during the day, and we've got several million electric vehicles all plugged in and charging once we go to bed at night ... then exactly when will "off-peak" be?

Chevrolet Volt: And the hits just keep on coming

  I was in Detroit for GM's hundred-year anniversary celebration, where the company rolled out the production version of the Volt. It's Chevrolet's extended-range electric car, which drivers will plug in to get a 40-mile range on battery power; if you need to go beyond that, there's a small gasoline engine that doesn't power the wheels, but runs the electric motor. GM first introduced it as a concept in 2007 and says it'll be built in November 2010.

The moment it rolled out on stage, the bloggers and the chat rooms exploded. And y'know, I'm no fan of corporations, but I have to admit that I feel for GM on this one. It seems that no matter what you do, you just can't make some people happy. Check out a few message boards and you'll see what I mean.

GM was castigated for dropping the EV1 program. People were furious that the company discontinued its electric car program. And now it's back with one, that addresses the EV1's drawback of range, and people still aren't happy.

The company did its research and found that the average American commuter trip is 40 miles. But if you go beyond that, there's a gas engine to get you a few hundred more miles, either to a wall socket or another gas station. And yet I've heard complaints of "but not everybody drives just 40 miles." Hit. Head. Here.

People complained that the Volt concept's styling was too "out there" to be taken seriously. So the company designs a more conventional (and to my eye, attractive) design, and people are complaining that it's too bland.

There are complaints about the price, even though GM hasn't yet said what it will cost. Yes, price will make or break this car. Do these people honestly think that the company doesn't know that?

And already I've heard complaints that it's an "untried technology". What, and the Prius and Insight were just new versions of hybrids that we'd been driving for the last 50 years? Yes, the battery is new, the system is new, the car is new. Perhaps these folks haven't realized that no matter what it is, from computers to refrigerators to ballpoint pens, somebody had to take a chance on the first ones.

What's wrong with the Volt that makes these people immediately hate it, even though it's been rolled out just once? Simple. It doesn't have Toyota on the nameplate.

Gas taxes: who will pay to repair our roads?

  In a recent issue of AutoWeek magazine, Kevin A. Wilson -- possibly the most observant and common-sense auto writer on the continent -- brought up a point I'd not considered: as gasoline consumption drops, who's going to fund our roads?

Gas taxes don't just sit in the general coffers; they're used to build and maintain roads. If there's no money for maintenance, no one fixes the cracked pavement. Our roadbeds collapse and our bridges fall down, and eventually, the highway system deteriorates to the point that it starts destroying our cars.

As Wilson points out, cars that get better fuel economy use less gasoline, and electric cars don't use any liquid fuel at all. Less gas = less tax money = who's going to foot the bill for our roads? It's not justification for buying a gas guzzler by any means, but right now, while we're on the cusp of dramatically reducing our fuel consumption, we'd better spend just as much time figuring out how the infrastructure is going to be financed. A car that gets 60 mpg isn't much good if there's no place to drive it.

Electric vehicles: More than just the car

I just read a news report, a follow-up to Nissan's earlier announcement that it will sell a completely electric vehicle in the U.S. and Japan in 2010. The company has embarked on a full-scale study in Kanagawa Prefecture to set up a charging network and incentives program that can possibly be repeated nationally and even globally.

That's a huge report, and it's one that I hope to see with many more automakers.

Up front: I'm a fan of electric vehicles, and I think they're going to have an important place in the overall goal of sustainable transportation. But I also think that many of the people who champion them are not looking at the big picture overall.

I've spoken to many supporters, who tell me that people will simply plug the cars in at home, or plug them in at work, and that's the extent of their vision of infrastructure. The problem is that many of these supporters live in single-family homes, and work at small companies where running a few extension cords from the building isn't an issue.

But many more people live in apartment buildings, or in older city areas where they have to park on the street. Many work at large complexes or factories, where a few thousand cars might occupy the parking lot. Suddenly, the situation isn't so simple as these devotees like to think it is.

Any new technology is going to be chicken-and-egg; early motorists had to buy their gasoline from hardware stores, because gas stations had yet to be developed. By working on the hen as well as the egg, automakers and governments can help to make this happen. Maybe, in future, parking meters will charge the cars parked beside them. Maybe apartment parking lots will include stand-alone charging systems. Maybe, if they do, the electric car will be more than just a conveyance for a lucky few, and instead, become a feasible option for many.

Betcha can't drive just one ...

This is a low-fat potato chip.

It's the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, but it just as easily could be the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, or the Lexus RX400h, or the upcoming hybrid SUVs from Dodge, or full-size hybrid sedans like the Lexus LS600hL or GS450h.

All of them use hybrid systems to improve their fuel mileage and reduce their emissions, and that's a good thing. But all of them have hybrid systems inside very large, very heavy (and, so far, very expensive) vehicles. And I'm betting that the majority will carry one or two people at the most, and maybe the odd bit of cargo that won't come close to the vehicle's capacity.

Hence, the low-fat potato chip, a food-like object that could only be invented in North America: when confronted with the problem of excess weight and poor dietary health, we buy versions that are slightly less bad for us, rather than reach for an apple or even question if we're hungry at all. Likewise, rather than buy a smaller vehicle, or walk more, or combine our trips so we drive less, we buy the large-by-huge SUV with the slightly better propulsion system. All the taste, a bit less fat, and the smug feeling that yes, we're making the planet a better place, one battery-powered gargantua at a time.

Small is beautiful!

No, it's not a Smart. This is a Mitsubishi i Car, and -- keep your fingers crossed -- it just might be coming to North America.

It's been on sale in Japan since 2006, and last summer, Mitsubishi brought one over to Canada and let me drive it for a few days. I took it to a cruise night where, as you can see, it proved immensely popular with the spectators. (I also had great fun with its right-hand-drive configuration in a left-hand-drive world.)

The company has announced that it will bring three i Cars to the New York International Auto Show, which starts up in a few days, including this gasoline-powered version, and an electric one that can recharge overnight on a regular household outlet or power up with a quick-charge when necessary.

Either way, it'll be great if we can get more mini-cars into the transportation mix, especially in urban environments. Unlike the Smart, the i Car holds four people (surprisingly well, given its tiny footprint), which will make it accessible to those who need more than a two-seater. This is how sustainable transportation works: not just with giant leaps, but with little steps that bring us closer to fitting each driver with the car to suit his or her needs.