Well readers, I feel like I failed you. Unlike the L.A. Auto Show, where I had the help of the very tall and very badass Susanna Schick helping me cover the show, it was only me…and my own coverage was piddling, to say the least.
But the rest of the blogosphere did not fail you, and so it is with that that I present you a roundup of green news from out of the Detroit Auto Show. I’m spreading the link love, because there are a lot of hard-working auto writers and bloggers out there. And though I tried, I could not keep up this time. There’s always New York though. I did come back feeling worse for wear, and now my throat feels like there’s a jagged wound running down the length of it. Hopefully I will be back to 100% by Monday. Until then though, enjoy some posts around the Internets.
Ford Launches EcoSport Mini-SUV Overseas [TechVehi]
Toyota Launches $19,000 Prius C In U.S. [Autoblog]
2013 Honda Accord Coupe Could Have Plug-In Hybrid Option [Treehugger]
AMP’s Electric Jeep Grand Cherokee Priced At $57,400 [Green Car Reports]
Toyota Unveils NS4 Plug-In Hybrid Concept [Treehugger]
Coda Cuts Range, Price On Its Electric Sedan [Autoblog Green]
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About Christopher DeMorro
Sad show! Back in the day, this oldster remembers the grand marques, all American All in a row, all the very best the world had to offer. Sentimentality will not let me forget the real cars America brought to this world: Oldsmobile’s, Packards, the Clippers come to mind, Hudson’s remember the glorious “lumps”, Desoto’s, great wings spread, as if to fly, big engines roaring through dual exhausts, two tone black and pink comes to mind, Pontiacs, not your recent “sports” models but the great long hooded straight eights, torque galore, pulling hard and heavy through three speeds, and tall tall axles, Zephyrs from Lincoln, great hairy V-12 power, enough torque to rip out the drive shaft, and a roar as never heard since from any car, Nash, the great heavy highway cruisers, decked out with chrome, Studebaker’s, who can forget the ‘Hawk” none close in pure beauty since, Mercury, the dressed up Fords, with bigger engines, better trim, fancy interiors, Kaiser’s the poor mans cheap practical transporter, durable to a fault, and the Monarch, a Ford dressed up beyond belief, even the Edsel, vertical grille built with abandon, Corvairs, and all their faults, Pinto’s the ‘exploders” Vega – oil burners right from the factory door. This auto show a decided let down, American Automotive Heritage hardly represented, not even one Henry “J”, Willis long gone, even American Motors Company without a Rebel, Who dropped the ball? Who?
High level discussion on wireless EV charging in NYC on January 27th….
The auto industry is huge. In 2011 well over 50 million cars and light vehicles were sold worldwide (with a value over $1.3 trillion). 2011 also marked the launch of the electric vehicle (“EV”) industry with Nissan’s Leaf and Chevy’s Volt …but sales have missed the mark. The 47,000 EVs sold in 2011 were well off Morgan Stanley’s initial projection of 64,000 units (a miss of 25%).
Trans Trans #4 will highlight potential game-changing innovations which could increase EV sales. The charger is an example: until recently the plug-in charger model seemed to be the de facto standard. But then Better Place raises $200 million for its battery swap model, and more intriguing companies like Google, Qualcomm, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Daimler have entered the wireless charger space. Siemens showcases wireless charging on its website. The rumor is that Nissan may offer factory-installed wireless charger on its Leaf in 2013.
Wireless charging has the potential to remove many roadblocks to EVs entering the mainstream, especially in cites. In addition to wireless charging, super light-weight material, telematics (smart systems), new servicing models, and vehicle-to-grid technologies (where the EV provides electricity to the grid during peak periods) will all be discussed.
Trans Trans #4 will explore the dominance of China, and finally open up the conversation and ask whether GE, Siemens, Bombardier, and/or Google could become an EV OEM, and what would that mean for small and medium-sized NYC businesses. The panel will be moderated by Tom Glendening of E3Think.