This evening Phoenix Motorcars held their second of two public events unveiling what they’re calling simply the “Sport Utility Truck” or SUT. The first was in LA; this one was in Dallas where several AustinEV members travelled to catch the show. What we saw was indeed a pickup truck with seating for 5, and there is also an almost identical SUV version in the works. I was pretty impressed with the vehicle in general, but was disappointed by some of the things the presenters were saying about it.

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I missed last night’s State of the Union Address, and this is actually pretty typical. I stopped listening to them because listening bothers and embarasses me on some level. Making no comments as to his actual intelligence or capability (this is certainly not the place for that), something about the way he talks seems to make even intelligent words sound poorly chosen.

Missing this one meant that I’ve gotten what I think is some pretty big news a day late. As part of his “Advanced Energy Initiative”, Bush announced a “22-percent increase in clean-energy research” including an increase in “our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars”.

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Some really cool news today on the Plug-in Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (PHEV) front. I mentioned before that the fortuitously-named mayor of Austin Will Wynn has taken the city of Austin to the forefront of energy-efficient personal transportation advocacy in initiating his campaign to gather support in the form of intent-to-buy pledges or “soft orders” for the manufacture of plug-in hybrid vehicles. We first heard about this plan at the 4th EAA chapters conference which we hosted here in Austin in April 2005. Months later in August it was announced to the general public.

Today that plan has gained traction on a large scale, with several cities joining in. The campaign, as of today, has officially gone national.
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Recently I’ve had the pleasure of helping motor rebuilding expert Jim Husted of Hi-Torque Electric escape the dungeon of free web hosting, lending a hand to haul the furniture and do a little decorating for his move to a real web host. And I couldn’t be happier or more honored to do it.

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I often think about what will happen to autocross, road racing and drag racing when hydrocarbon combustion no longer makes sense and no longer has any substantial connection to the real automotive world. I personally would like to think it will continue to exist, but in a different, cleaner form. Nascent organizations such as NEDRA seem to suggest that this will happen, and indeed may be happening already — we may in fact be seeing the first hints of a new age of motorsport dawning before us right now. It’s one of the inspirations behind the Ohmbre project.

Apparently, some folks in Korea are thinking the same thing. Futurist designers at Hyundai have drawn up a concept they’re calling the Greenspeed Gator, running on hydrogen fuel cells. While I can’t resist commenting that I believe them to be barking up the wrong tree as far as fuel cells are concerned, that will all be revealed in time. Whether I’m right or wrong, the important point is that it doesn’t really matter. Clean, quiet electric power is the key here.

I look forward to the day when the general public is aware of how fun electric drag racing events can be. Where power and speed are all that matters — not the pointless, ear-damaging noise or huge flames, or the mist of unburned alcohol burning spectators’ eyes. Just the sound of barking tires, and the sight of a car rocketing down the track on clean renewable energy.

Further proof that the real problem with electric vehicle battery tech is simply a matter of scale.

It’s widely understood that for high-performance RC vehicles, on the ground and in seriously demanding applications like aerobatics, the only real powerplant option is a fuel-burning engine, whether one that burns glow-fuel (”nitro”) or gasoline. This has been in great part for the same reason that gasoline is popular with full-size vehicles — energy density. Though significant energy is wasted when burning fuel for mechanical power, the enormous useable energy that can be stored in a given mass of fuel has always been so significantly greater than the energy capacity of batteries that electric RC vehicles haven’t stood a chance in direct competition. Well, now that’s changing. Lithium polymer, the same cell chemistry that powers your cell phone, is changing the game for electric power in the RC hobby, and it’s only a matter of production scale that keeps the price of larger battery packs prohibitive for larger applications.

Take another look at the page linked above. Notice the link for Kokam LiPo batteries on the sidebar? Now take a look at Pro-EV’s Electric Imp, a converted Subaru Impreza using larger cells from the same manufacturer to power dual Siemens 3-phase AC drives — one for each end of the car. The result is an electric AWD autocross car that’s silently winning trophies.

Outrageously expensive? You bet. But it’s just a matter of time before Lithium Polymer, and the still advancing state of the older Lithium Ion chemistries (powering your notebook computer, and soon your cordless power tools) become affordable in larger sizes and quantities. And maybe then we’ll see the story forshadowed by the changes seen today in electric RC vehicles, unfolding on streets in the real world.

This is incredible news.

Austin’s plans for nationwide promotion of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs) wowed the EAA representatives packed into a meeting room at the Austin Energy building for the EAA Chapters Conference we hosted here back in April. With so much development and advocacy of electric vehicles having historically come from the west coast (especially California), it was Austin’s moment to shine as a representative from the city discussed the plan to create a market for these vehicles — here in Austin, and in major cities across the country. At the delighted faces of visitors from California and elsewhere, I felt really proud of my city, and the massive project they’re trying to spearhead for the good of the entire country.

Yesterday those plans became public.

Additional reports from KUT, KXAN (click on the video “Promoting Hybrid Cars”), News 8 Austin (click on Push For Plug-Ins video button), and of course our local utility, Austin Energy.

More exciting EV production news, this time from Subaru.

Gizmag reports that Subaru is planning to produce an electric version of its popular Japanese-market R1, which will be called the R1e. I imagine this will also only be marketed in Japan, though perhaps there is hope that Subaru might try the idea here in the US and elsewhere.

From the article, a couple of interesting points. First, the production of the R1e has been pushed by popular demand — people actually want these cars (someone please tell GM; I don’t think they were listening). Second, the stock price actually rose on the news that Subaru would begin producing EVs and hybrids.

Now this is something a lot of people have been waiting to see, for a long time.

Rick and Bryan Woodbury of Commuter Cars have pulled it off, delivering the first production Tango T600 to George Clooney. Unlike the familiar blue and red prototypes, this one’s black, and it’s looking really sweet.

0-60 in 4 seconds, 150mph top speed, full NHRA-spec roll cage, dual 9″ Advanced DC FB1-4001 motors and a 2000-amp Zilla controller (the same controller as I’ve bought for my truck project) running at 300VDC, this thing is a rocket. After helping out with modifying the battery tray for a new type of battery when I was in Portland for the Woodburn races a couple years ago, I got a brief opportunity afterward to take a ride as a passenger in the red prototype, with Rick at the wheel. Even with its detuned controller (to break in the new batteries), it accelerated like a cannon shell and took corners with no lean. I haven’t ridden in anything really exotic, but I also haven’t ridden in any sports car of any kind that handles as well as the Tango. All this, in a footprint that’s smaller than some full-size touring motorcycles.

Electrifying Times has a page on the delivery, with a couple large shots of the dude and his new ride.

Austin got a big treat, and an honor to be the starting point for two major solar car races — the high-school level race I posted about a week ago and the 2005 North American Solar Car Challenge, a college-level race that set out this morning. Unfortunately, it was raining as they filed out of town, so the race wasn’t off to as spirited a start as one might have hoped.

I checked out the cars as they were on display yesterday afternoon, and the designs were very impressive. Lots of custom tube frames, carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb composites. And a few unprompted words I happened to overhear from a faculty advisor for the Michigan team echoing most EVer’s opinion about hydrogen — it’s an inefficient idea with a laundry list of difficult and important problems that will eventually fade as the automotive industry comes back to the technology it panned in the late 90s — batteries. For the record, I did see one hydrogen-powered car at the show-and-tell event downtown on Saturday, though I’m not sure how it figures into the solar car race.

Local press coverage for this and last week’s high school race here. My camera dump from Saturday here. I believe that Aaron Choate (also of AustinEV) has some better pictures than mine; if so I’ll post a link.