Plug-In

One of the great hopes behind electrified vehicles is reduced dependence of not only foreign oil, but all polluting energy sources. In a step towards that greater goal, Ford announced that they have teamed up with solar energy panel manufacturer SunPower. While not the first domestic manufacturer to team up with a solar energy provider (GM recently announced a $7.5million investment in Sunlogics), they are the first to provide a customer-centric solution towards decreased grid-dependence. The fruit of the team up is a ...

It's not just the U.S. and multinational automobile CEOs, the advertising executives and car dealerships, the auto magazines and the eager consumers that are anticipating the shift from gas-powered engines to battery-powered electric vehicles, but nationwide, power companies see the upcoming change as a great opportunity, as well as a need for adjustments. The major boon that a surge of plug-ins bring to utilities is as follows:  Their "surplus" power, which is all those electrons that their power sources produce and send through ...

Ford Motor plans to have plug-in electric vehicles in its showrooms by 2012.  Powering these vehicles will be lithium-ion battery cells, manufactured by Johnson Controls-Saft, a U.S.-French joint venture.  Nancy Gioia, Ford's hybrid chief, indicated that enough battery purchases will be made to produce about 5,000 plug-in vehicles a year.  However, there is no indicated what form such a vehicle will take. Apparently, the technology will be showcased in a 2009 Escape SUV.  Referring to prices, Gioia stated that gasoline-electric hybrids sell from ...