Car Chute

AMSTERDAM & FRANKFURT–(BUSINESS WIRE)–At the IAA Frankfurt Motorshow TomTom and Renault today, launch their first in-dash navigation system, specifically designed for electric vehicles and standard fitted on the Fluence Z.E.

The Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE receives information from the battery on its current state of charge, which is used to determine the available range of the vehicle. This information is then visualised on the navigation screen, showing the journey against the available range and the routes to the charge stations. This will help to effectively plan charging and remove drivers’ “range anxiety”, giving them confidence that their journey can be completed. The system also includes an eco-routing – providing the driver with an option to select the most energy efficient route.

Finding the right charging station information and location (amongst the 5000+ that will be available in Europe at the end of 2011) is critical to drivers. The TomTom Home application will provide users with the latest charging station list each time they connect their SD card to their computer. The Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE will inform the users in real-time about the availability of charge stations en route, allowing them to stop and ‘fill-up’ when needed.

“This is the first navigation system TomTom is launching in the area of electric vehicles and it represents a great milestone for us as a company in this exciting new market. The Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE for Fluence Z.E., is also the third major development in the already successful Carminat TomTom series and underlines our fruitful relationship with Renault,” says Giles Shrimpton, Managing Director TomTom Automotive.

“We are very happy with the strong partnership we have developed with TomTom over the years and that we are able to give birth today to the next evolution of our product – the new Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE. This solution is a key feature of our new Fluence Z.E. The electric vehicle programme is of great importance to us at Renault and the Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE plays a significant role in its success”, says Stephen Norman, Global Marketing & Communications Director, Renault.

In addition, the Carminat TomTom Z.E. LIVE comes with LIVE Services including HD Traffic, providing drivers with its unique dynamic routing; giving them the fastest route to their destination based on the latest traffic situation.

Key Features

• Electric vehicle routing functionality, including routing to and via charge stations, and integration with battery management solution
• Eco-routing function
• Visualisation of available range on the map and navigation display
• Automatic updates of charge stations via TomTom Home with search functions for locating of nearest charge station, as well as those around destination or other location
• HD Traffic – unique combination of real-time traffic, based on a network of over 80 million probes in Europe and dynamic routing
• Local Search
• Weather
• Safety camera alerts, to help the customer to drive more safely and responsibly.
• IQ Routes technology so the user always gets the best route to his destination. This technology calculates your routes based on the real average speeds measured on roads. Always providing you with the fastest route, and most accurate travel time, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, saving you time, money and fuel.
• Advanced Lane Guidance shows which lane to take at junctions so you don’t miss your turn. On the most difficult highway intersections, realistic 3D representation of the junction keeps customers relaxed and safe.
• TomTom Map Share allows the user to make corrections to his/her own map and able to benefit from thousands of corrections made by TomTom users every day.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• ??????????? (1)

Hertz Global EV Expands to China

PR Newswire — August 24, 2011

SHANGHAI, August 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

- Hertz partners with GE Energy China and the China EV Pilot City to build out EV infrastructure; Hertz is the first car rental company to offer EVs on three continents

The Hertz [http://www.hertz.com ] Corporation (NYSE: HTZ) today announced the expansion of its Global EV initiative to China, making it the first global rental car [http://www.hertz.com ] company to offer electric vehicles (EVs) on three continents. Hertz now offers EVs across the US in cities including New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and in London, United Kingdom and other cities in Europe. To help build a market for what is the first EV rental service in China, Hertz launches several new programs:

Read more…

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota’s electric-gasoline hybrid car technology will be utilized to help ease power shortages in Japan’s disaster-struck northeast, part of a set of measures the automaker hopes will underline its commitment to the region.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will donate emergency power supply systems linked to its Prius hybrid cars to prefectures (states) in the Tohoku region ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The systems will be fitted to about 40 of the automaker’s Prius hybrids. Hybrid vehicles can be used to store and generate electricity because it is partly an electric vehicle that runs on a high-quality battery.

Toyota’s hybrid technology has already been helping in quake-affected areas, which suffered massive blackouts, as an emergency source of electricity.

The automaker said the positive reviews for its Estima hybrid minivan, which comes with regular electrical outlets to plug in and run household appliances for up to two days, are prompting it to make it available as an option for the Prius within a year.

Toyota also announced Tuesday that it will set up a manufacturing training school in the northeast, hoping to send home the message it remains committed to making cars in Tohoku and Japan overall despite mounting obstacles.

Fears are growing that Toyota and other major manufacturers may move production abroad after the tsunami and earthquake left key suppliers in a shambles, disrupting production.

Another setback are the meltdowns at a nuclear power plant, which is crimping the electricity supply and forcing manufacturers to cut back on electricity use.

Recruiting for the new technical school for high school graduates and employees of Toyota affiliates in the northeast will start in July next year. The first class for 10 to 30 students will begin in April 2013, the world’s largest automaker said in a statement.

Toyota also said it will donate 300 million yen ($3.8 million) for educational help for children, many who lost their parents in the disaster, and another 3 million yen ($38,000) to support the arts in Tohoku.

Last week, Toyota announced it was consolidating its operations among Tohoku group companies, and strengthening research and development in the region to make it Toyota’s third production center in Japan — after its headquarters in central Japan and Kyushu, southwestern Japan.

One vehicle set to be produced in northeastern Japan is a small hybrid that’s a key part of Toyota’s lineup of green vehicles, according to the automaker.

Other Japanese automakers are also eyeing renewable energy as a business opportunity, taking advantage of the power-generating feature of green cars.

Nissan Motor Co. is testing a super-green way to recharge its Leaf electric vehicle using solar power. Honda Motor Co. already has solar panel and home power generating

Article source: Article Source

General Motors today said that thanks to strong public interest in the Chevrolet Volt, the 340-mile extended range electric vehicle, it will increase U.S. production capacity of the groundbreaking new car by 50 percent, from 30,000 units to 45,000 units, in 2012.

The announcement came as U.S. President Barack Obama toured the Detroit-Hamtramck facility, where the Volt is being produced now for sale later this year.

The Volt offers a total driving range of about 340 miles and is powered by electricity at all times. For up to the first 40 miles, the vehicle drives gas- and tailpipe-emissions-free using electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gas-powered, engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 300 miles on a full tank.

Read

As I mentioned before, the evolution of cars from gas guzzlers to electric suckers is inevitable if you want to help the environment shape up. With car manufacturers recognizing the effects of using gas powered vehicles to the environment, most of them are looking for ways to create green cars that won’t alienate their current gas powered car customers and lovers. One of these manufacturers is Nissan as they just showed off their green car: The Leaf.

“This is not a golf car, it’s a real car,” Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told the crowd. The Leaf, with motors equal to a 100-horsepower gas engine, can be recharged to 80% capacity in a half hour, of fully overnight. The five-passenger sedan can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 10 seconds.

As with most problems with green cars, it is extremely expensive! According to the article, there’s a very big chance that the price will range from $25,000 to $30,000. Now whether this will go down as more people buy green cars is really up for debate, but in the long run, the price of maintaining this is a heck of a lot cheaper.

The next problem now are the charging stations–and it looks like Nissan is actively participating in setting up the stations. It should push the other car manufacturers to do their share in making the world better for everyone. I’m hoping that this starts the ball rolling for more electric cars in the future.

Source