Here’s the second part of the Chetan Maini interview. We got to drive the new GWiz i and talk about the future for electric vehicles and Reva in general. Click on the image to view video (25 Meg QT)
Author Archive for Danny
I cant help noticing that the Smart ED (EV) is getting a slating in the mainstream press. Top Gear has given it a 1/20 rating (not seen it that low before) in this month’s magazine . I’ve been on at Smart for over a year to try and get a test drive with no luck. They tell me they are reserving drives for journalists. Perhaps it’s a lesson to the big manufacturers in getting the guys who are enthusiasts with an enthusiastic audience to try your cars sooner. Or perhaps it’s just rubbish…
Meanwhile back at the group test… Here’s an extended test drive of the Kewet Buddy EV. Click on the image to view video (22 meg QT)
Here’s a look and a drive with the new Reva GWiz i with Steve, Goingreens new MD. 50mph top speed. 50 mile range. New safety features. Click on the image to view video. (28meg QT)
Ken’s made his decision on the Congestion Charge today and it’s not good for EV’s. As follows;
"A 100 per cent low CO2 discount for cars that:
Produce less than 120g/km CO2 and meet the Euro 4 standard for air pollution emissions OR Produce no more than 120g/km of CO2, and appear on the PowerShift register"
So many people have been working so hard on getting electric vehicles on the road. I really hope this isn’t another nail in the coffin….
We spent a day comparing the Kewet Buddy, Nice Megacity and the G Wiz AC. First up was a look at the Buddy in the garage. Click on the image to view video (7 meg QT).
Links:electric car vlogging video podcast buddy kewet gwiz nice megacity
Here’s a nice little video of 5 Tesla Roadsters out for a drive. The first one, apparently, is production car number one belonging to Elon Musk.
Forget hillclimbs with huge amounts of torque and wheelspin. How about my DC with almost 3 year old batteries versus a new AC GWiz? The results speak for themselves. Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that the goingreen driver in the AC was slimmer than me, nothing at all..(ahem). Click on the image to view video. (5 meg QT).
Spent yesterday filming a group test with a GWiz AC, a NICE Megacity and a Kewet Buddy. I was lent the Megacity for 24 hours which gave me a good chance to spend some time with the car. Will begin posting the edit as soon as time permits!
Commercial vehicles are not something I usually cover, but I came across this new Edison from Smith Electric Vehicles today. These guys have been working with battery technology for years, building the electric milk floats we are so used to seeing. Now Sainsburys have taken delivery of several models and are planning to have a fleet of electric vehicles across the UK for food delivery. Smith Electric told me that they wanted to build vans and trucks that felt like a normal hgv so that the vehicles are not too alien for the drivers. Looks like they’ve done a great job, and very timely considering the new LEZ is coming in to force in London in the next few weeks. How about a nice 4 seater passenger car for a future project, Smith Electric? Click on the image to view video (4.4meg QT)
Here’s some more pictures and detail of the Flextreme. Autoblog Green are reporting on similar releases from Dodge and even an EV Jeep Renegade.
Don’t let’s get too excited. Each and everyone is a concept right now
and we may well be driving a lead acid g-wiz for years to come! Click
on an image to see it in more detail.
Links:electric car vlogging video podcast opel flextreme Opel Flextreme Chevy Volt Dodge Jeep Autoblog green Gwiz
Is this really happening? Are some of the mainstream manufacturers really spending more time and money on EV technologies? Detroit 2008 seems to be heralding a whole range of EV concepts.
The big guys seem to be concentrating on using EV and battery technology but charging those batteries with an on board generator (usually diesel and known as a range extender). They’ll also have an option to plug in. In the States the cars thats best known in this form is the Chevy Volt. Here in Europe, Opel have been showing the Flextreme Concept. It’s a four seater EV that has a range of 55km when charged up, but has an extended range when the batteries are charged using a 1.3 litre diesel engine of 715 km (not connected to the wheels like a hybrid). Top Speed will be 160kmh with a 0-100 kmh of 9.5 seconds.
I’m hugely excited about it all. Let’s hope there’s something in this for the future…Here’s a short video of its unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2007. Mind out for those Segways. They’ll be everywhere before you know it… Click on the image to view video (2.3 Meg QT)
Links:electric car vlogging video podcast opel flextreme Opel Flextreme Chevy Volt Detroit 2008
Happy New Year one and all. The bad news is that Westminster/Masterpark are closing my car park along with it’s two charging bays. There’s been plenty of talk about Westminster & Camden councils installing many additional charging bays. Whether it’s really going to happen remains to be seen. Click on the image to view video (6.6meg QT).
Links:electric car vlogging video podcast vlog Camden Council ev Westminster Council
While I’m waiting to test drive the Venturi Fetish (could be a long wait…) I thought I’d show some footage of the Eclectic. Powered by solar panels on the roof, it’ll run for 31 miles on a full charge with speeds of up to 32mph. If you live where I live you can even plug it in to the mains during downpours.
It’ll be released in June 2008, when 200 units will be released. Prices are expected to be around 24000 Euros. Thanks to Venturi for the footage. Click on the image to view video (6.9 meg QT).
Here’s some footage of driving the Kewet Buddy EV. Although it’s not released here yet, it’s probably going to cost around £11000 UK. Click on the image to view video. (10 meg QT).
Some Buddy pics for you.
Had the good fortune to drive a Kewet Buddy last week. It’s a nice little car and better than I expected it to be. I shot this footage on my Nokia N95 phone as a trial. It came out fine, but I’ve since found the wobblycam setting. I’ll break the footage into episodes for all to see. Click on the image to view video. (6meg QT)
Seeing as some of you won’t be getting your Tesla’s for a while yet, I thought I would dig out some more of the Tesla files. Here’s where I got to take a spin in it. Click on the image to view video. (4.7 meg QT)
The i miev is ace. 4 seats. 4 doors. Great range. Proper safety features. Apparently Mitsubishi’s chief exec in the UK fully supports the electric version of this car and we should have it by 2010…. They’ve just previewed a concept called the i miev sport at the Tokyo motor show. Take a look at this you tube link. They claim this one will do 110 mph. I really hope that the i miev happens in Europe - it’s a perfect urban car. Thanks to dig info for the video and autoblog for the pics.
A think got me thinking (sorry..) yesterday about the new model that’s coming to our shores in the near future. Looks like it’ll be a great little car but there’s a question mark over charge times. With a Wiz you can do an 80% battery charge in 2 hours - something we often need to do. I’m not sure the new Think will have this facility. Click on the image to view video (3.5 meg QT).
Tesla’s test and validation manager discusses driving the car in the arctic circle. Tesla, please, just listen, we need this car in the UK, it’s our only hope, don’t send it over the pond, please Tesla, please….Click on the image to view video (4.4meg QT)
A couple of weeks ago I got the chance to drive a BMW Hydrogen 7. Click on the image to view video (13 meg QT)
Here’s where I get to meet Brian from Tesla. Brian was great - he took the time to really show me the car. The video would have benefitted from some editing (birthday parties going on around us etc..) but seeing as it’s not every day you get to meet Tesla’s test and validation manager I thought I’d leave it all in. Click on the image to view video (18meg QT).
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