Electric Vehicle Week - EDTA Media Watch

Media Watch:

New offerings include course on hybrid cars
Times Daily (Alabama)
January 15, 2010

--"We've received a $77,000 grant to allow the automotive program students to work on hybrid automobiles," said Trent Randolph, Northwest-Shoals spokesman. "The majority of it will go toward the purchase of equipment, while around $22,000 will be used to purchase a hybrid car so students can learn the ins and outs of Click Here For Complete Article

Hybrids, electric cars dominate Detroit Auto Show as Michigan goes after battery building jobs
Michigan Live
January 14, 2010

--Hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles aren't just the major theme of this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit -- they're the only theme. Click Here For Complete Article

Stabenow: Senate likely to OK electric car bill
Detroit Free Press
January 14, 2010

--U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow believes the Senate is likely to pass legislation that would reauthorize and expand a grant program for electric vehicle development within weeks. The bill, called the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act, would increase the existing U.S. Department of Energy program by about $200 million annually to a total of $2.85 billion over five years. Click Here For Complete Article

Fisker Switches to Batteries from A123, Which Also Makes an Investment
BNET
January 14, 2010

--In an unusual development, Fisker Automotive has signed a deal with Massachusetts' A123 Systems. The battery company also agreed to invest up to $23 million in Fisker "in order to establish a strategic relationship with the car company." Click Here For Complete Article

Chinese Maker Hopes to Offer Electric Car for U.S. by Year-End
The New York Times
January 13, 2010

--BYD Auto announced that it plans to start selling an electric car in California by the end of this year. Click Here For Complete Article

Survey hints at strong demand for electric cars
CNET
January 14, 2010

--Ernst & Young released results from a survey of 1,000 licensed U.S. drivers that found 10 percent of drivers would consider purchasing a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle. That represents about 20 million American drivers, enough demand to sell out 2010 and 2011 electric vehicles. Click Here For Complete Article

Hawaii's 1st electric car charging station to open
KPUA News
January 14, 2010

--Hawaii's first public electric car charging station is set to open later this month. It will offer free charging through March. Afterward, customers will be able to buy charges 24 hours a day by using a credit-card like device or calling a toll-free number. Click Here For Complete Article

Carmakers bet on electric; see early hurdles
Reuters
January 13, 2010

--Carmakers emerging from a savage crisis hope to lure drivers to electric cars in the coming years, but cost, range and safety considerations mean many are still cautious, holding back from predicting an early sales boom. Click Here For Complete Article

GM Expects Electric Cars' Range to Vary Greatly
The Wall Street Journal
January 11, 2010

--Vice Chairman Robert Lutz predicts consumers will at first "be perplexed" by the variation in range, which is inevitable in all electric vehicles. Click Here For Complete Article

Fuel-efficient cars lead Detroit show
Boston Herald
January 12, 2010

--Honda Motor Co. showed off the production model of the 2011 CR-Z, a sporty two-seater hybrid that will go on sale late summer in the United States. Toyota Motor Corp. said a small hybrid car might be the first of a US lineup using the Prius name and it will add eight of the fuel-efficient models within a few years. And General Motors Co. vice chairman Bob Lutz said the company will build a pure-electric vehicle by expanding the Chevrolet Volt's battery pack and removing its internal combustion engine. Click Here For Complete Article

A Future That Doesn't Guzzle
The New York Times
January 11, 2010

--About 98 percent of the vehicles sold in the United States last year were powered by conventional gasoline engines, but at the opening Monday of the big Detroit auto show, the internal-combustion engine seemed almost pass�. Click Here For Complete Article