Reuters reports from the Detroit Auto Show about Toyota’s FT-EV concept vehicle, an all-electric commuter car based on the iQ super-compact. Toyota says to expect sales of the FT-EV (which will surely be rebranded) in 2012, joining Nissan and GM — provided GM doesn’t go bankrupt before 2012.
These little plug-in electric vehicles are the future of city commuting. Even if the power that’s coming down the lines comes from less-than-optimal sources like coal, it will be much easier to find new ways to generate on-grid power than it will be to find more oil. (Plus you could build your own off-grid charging stations should you please.)
As long as they are taken back to the manufacturer, electric and hybrid car batteries are fully recyclable.
Image thumbnail: Reuters
- Peapod electric car – Boing Boing Gadgets
- Nissan to release electric car by 2010 – Boing Boing Gadgets
- Smart claims "300mpg" for electric-only SmartForTwo – Boing Boing …
- Dyson sets sights on electric vehicles – Boing Boing Gadgets
- DONG Energy Powers Electric Cars – Boing Boing Gadgets
- Kenguru: Drive-In Car for Wheelchairs – Boing Boing Gadgets
- Another Look at the Toyota "1/X" Plug-in Hybrid Car – Boing Boing …
- Aptera Three-Wheeled Electric Car May Reach Production – Boing …
I don’t think many people will see this, but I want to point out that even non-optimal grid power sources are significantly more efficient than sticking the same thing under your hood.
You wouldn’t think it, what with the chemical to heat to kinetic to electrical to chemical to kinetic transfer for electric vehicles vs the chemical to heat to kinetic for internal combustion engines, but there are a lot of economies of scale to be grasped in power production.