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EU to Propose Tighter CO2 Regulations

June 14, 2012 by newsdesk

The European Commission will discuss tighter carbon emissions standards for new EU cars, according to a draft proposal. This is likely to evoke criticism by the auto industry which recently called on the Commission to relax the way CO2 emissions are measured in order to ease the financial burden on car manufacturers. However, it is welcomed by environmentalists and electric car manufacturers.

The proposal recommends making binding a goal to lower carbon dioxide emissions to an average of 95 grams per

Tallinn-Monte Carlo Electric Car Marathon

June 1, 2012 by newsdesk

Ten countries, 29 cities, dozens of electric cars and approved by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco – that in a few words summarises the Tallin-Monte Carlo Electric Car Marathon that started today. The route of the marathon looks like this: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Monaco.

Nissan Leaf — Leafs Topping Up Before the Marathon

Electric Dreams Come True

May 14, 2012 by newsdesk

We featured a story a few weeks ago about the Wilmington Academy’s struggle to find a sponsor for their stint at the annual Greenpower competition. We’ve got some good news to share and thanks to say. The companies that are sponsoring the project are: YZL Education Consultancy, Toyota Jemca and Nextgreencar.com.

Thanks to their support the pupils were able to go and compete at the Silverston. Although it was (officially) the wettest day of the year, everyone had a great time.

Downloadable Engine Noise for Electric Cars

April 30, 2012 by newsdesk

A loud roaring engine noise is part of the fun for many car drivers. Too bad that electric vehicles have silent engines. But industry experts have a solution for all fans of eco-friendly yet noisy motors: downloadable engine sounds for electric cars.

Just like downloading ringtones on mobile phones, electric vehicle owners could soon be able to download artificial noises for their

Electric Car’s Worst Enemy: Rust

April 23, 2012 by newsdesk

The high purchase price is often cited as one of the reasons why electric cars don’t take off on the market. Indeed, the batteries make up most of the costs and researchers are working hard on developing cheaper versions. However, now it seems that the worst enemy of progress is a common known little annoyance: rust.

Corrosion, a form of rust, is a big reason why it’s so difficult to increase range and longevity while cutting costs, said Erik Spek, chief engineer at German technical service company TÜV SÜD. Spek and his team are testing battery cells under normal and extreme conditions trying to mimic a decade of use in a year or two.

Zagato Volpe – an Electric Fox

April 19, 2012 by newsdesk

The Italian car body shop Zagato is known to come up with innovative original designs from time to time. On this occasion they’ve teamed up with Romano Artiolo of Bugatti EB110 and Lotus Elise fame to build a supermini electric car for city. It’s called Zagato Volpe that both translates as “fox” from Italian and serves as a meaningful abbreviation for Veicoli Originali Leggeri Privi di Emissioni. In other words it’s an “original emission-free light vehicle”.

As you can see from the X-ray image, the driving position is pretty much like on a

TfL and Hospitals offer Free Charging

April 17, 2012 by newsdesk

Hospitals in Surrey and south London will offer free charging for electric cars. They are the first ones to participate in a scheme set up by Transport for London (TfL) that aims to promote greener forms of transport and the use of electric vehicles. From 16th April, patients and visitors at Epsom, Sutton and St. … Read more

New York Auto Show 2012 Roundup

April 14, 2012 by newsdesk

So, New York Auto Show is soon coming to an end. It was an exciting celebration of American (and a little bit of international) motoring traditions. The cars are much bigger in the U.S., you know – even the green cars. There were a few interesting debuts, including a wheelchair-friendly eco car and something that promises to transport you back to the future. Let’s crack on then:

An Opportunity to Sponsor Young Engineers

April 10, 2012 by newsdesk

The annual Greenpower competition is just a couple of weeks away but Wilmington Academy’s participation is under a big question mark. Their sponsor has withdrawn with less than a month to go… good timing, I know.

That’s why we’re urgently looking for new sponsors. It’s not a lot of money, they only need to raise around £1500, however, even a couple of hundred pounds would make a massive difference. Do you know somebody who could? If not, please just tweet this or share it via Facebook.

Swatch Fancies Another Go

April 5, 2012 by newsdesk

You may remember the Swiss watchmaker Swatch from 1997 when they co-designed the hugely successful Smart car together with Daimler. Later they decided to pull out of the project and sold the shares in Smart to move on with what they did best – make superb watches.

Now, it seems that Swatch wants to get back into building microcars. According to an interview that Nick Hayek CEO of the company (and the son of the man who designed the Smart forTwo) gave to a Swiss newspaper NZZ, there is a working prototype of Swatch Belenos ELV2.