Zero Electric Motorcycles Coming to a PD Near You

Last week, Zero motorcycles took a massive step towards the mainstream when it became the first electric motorcycle brand to receive a GSA listing. GSA listings–, or: General Service Administration listings– help to facilitate the purchase of given vehicles (example: Ford Crown Vic) by federal, state, and local government agencies.

Granted, there’s more to government buying decisions than GSA listings. Still, it’s a big step, and the Gas 2 favorites at Zero deserve their victory lap. Check out the official press release, below, along with a video from the Monterey, California PD putting a Zero through its paces from 2013. Once you’ve done that, let us know what you think of Zero’s chances of coming to your PD in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Zero Makes the Big Time with Entry to GSA

Zero Motorcycles, the global electric motorcycle sales and innovation leader, today announced that it is the first electric motorcycle brand to be listed on General Services Administration (GSA). This facilitates a streamlined procurement process for federal, state, and local government agencies, allowing them to obtain the vehicles they need quickly and easily under pre-negotiated terms and prices.
The GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government through its online ordering system, GSA Advantage!, offering billions of dollars worth of products, services and facilities that federal agencies need to serve the public.
“With more than 125 law enforcement and military customers in the U.S. currently using Zero motorcycles, we are happy to be included on GSA as it makes Zero’s Authority models even more attainable for government agencies,” said Kevin Hartman, fleet and authority sales director, Zero Motorcycles. “Knowing that many agencies prefer utilizing GSA, taking this step is a reflection of Zero’s strong commitment to continuing to work with U.S. government agencies.”
In order to ensure a seamless approval process, Zero partnered with Fedharmony to leverage its existing GSA contact. Fedharmony helps ease the federal procurement process by partnering with in-demand suppliers to add hard-to-find products to GSA.
“Zero’s electric motorcycles are an ideal addition to our portfolio of unique vehicles for emergency responders and the military,” said Scott Smith, president, Fedharmony. “We have had a high level of interest in these bikes and we are happy to help make electric options even more easily accessible to federal agencies.”
Zero Authority Motorcycles are now listed on the U.S. GAS Schedule 23V and available for purchase online on GSA Advantage!. Purchases can be made directly on GSA Advantage! or customers can issue a request for quotation (RFQ) through the GSA electronic ordering system.

Zero Motorcycle | Monterey Police Dept

Source | Images: Zero, via Ride Apart; Monterey PD

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Coming To US In December - Maybe

Following many, many years of waiting, it appears that Mitsubishi will finally be launching the plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander SUV in the US — with the release of the 2018 model year now slated for December.

This hot Japanese vehicle, which has seen top-of-the-market sales in Europe and Japan, has had planned releases in the US something like 30 times (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration) and repeatedly been delayed, so I’m sure some of you will still wait to see the model in a US parking lot before cheering, but the timing is near enough now that we can probably be optimistic.

While the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid (PHEV) would likely have sold very well in the US just a couple of years back, it’s an open question how well it will in the now fairly competitive US electric vehicle market.

The 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will have a base price of $34,595 in the US, so it won’t be cheap, but that is still the most affordable price by far for a plug-in SUV.

As it stands, not too much can predicted as far as the EPA range rating and fuel consumption figures, especially since this model may be reworked a bit from what’s been selling in Europe and Japan over the past several years.

Green Car Congress provides more: “The two 60 kW full-time, high-output electric motors are separately mounted at the front and rear axles. The front electric motor is positioned transaxle-style on the left side of the engine; the front motor is a smaller, lighter and higher output enhanced version of the permanent magnet synchronous electric motor used in the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The system features a front-mounted generator that converts mechanical power to electricity and continuously charges the drive battery, while a Power Drive Unit (PDU) helps to convert the electric power and send it to the front motor. The engine delivers 117 hp @ 4500 rpm, with 137 lb-ft (186 N·m) of torque. The front motor delivers 137 N·m of torque; the rear deliver 195 N·m. Combined system power output is 197 hp.”

Notably, despite being a plug-in hybrid rather than an all-electric vehicle (EV), the model will reportedly still come standard with DC Fast Charging capability — which will allow the model’s battery pack to be nearly fully recharged (80%) in under 25 minutes or so.

This Plug-in Hybrid Guide Will Help You Choose The Right Vehicle

As their name suggests, the folks at Plugin Cars have an agenda. They like cars with plugs. Recently, they published a plug-in hybrid guide for people interested in buying or leasing a PHEV. It is so well done, I decided to share it with our readers as a primer on how to go about selecting the right plug-in hybrid for their needs. Author Brad Berman groups his suggestions into four categories. Let’s unpack each one and see what we can learn.

All-Electric Range

Berman suggests the most important factor in his plug-in hybrid guide is how far will that shiny new plug-in hybrid go on electric power alone? After all, the main reason to get a PHEV is to drive with zero tailpipe emissions as much as possible. If you commute 50 miles a day but your car only has 20 miles of range, you will be relying on an old-fashioned internal combustion engine for the majority of your journey (assuming you’re not recharging at work during the day).

The Chevy Volt is the champion today. With 53 miles of range on a full battery, it can handle most people’s daily driving needs without using a drop of gasoline. Several Gas2 readers own a Volt and confirm that the gasoline engine rarely turns on while they are driving. In fact, Chevrolet programs the engine to start automatically every few months just to slosh the oil around to all those critical spaces inside so that it will be ready for use when called on.

By comparison, the Toyota Prius Prime has an all-electric range less than half that of the Volt but lists for nearly $10,000 less. The new Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is better at 30 miles — pretty good for a large family hauler. Plugin Cars has a handy guide that you can use to sort through the offerings available (not all are sold in every state) to compare prices and features at a glance. It might be a useful tool to bookmark. Gas2 sister site CleanTechnica has a similar EV guide, by the way, but with more filters and European prices as well as US ones. However, you can’t filter by pure EV vs PHEV — you can just sort by total electric range and/or filter by minimum range (100 km vs 200 km vs 300 km), which has a similar effect.

Pick The Car That Fits Your Driving Needs

What is your typical driving day like? Yes, we all want to dream of chucking it all and driving to the West Coast if we feel like it, and yes, we may drive the kiddies to Disney World every few years, but how do you use your car on a daily basis? It might be a good idea to start a log and write down how far you drive every day for a month. That would help you analyze your actual driving needs. If you only drive 15 to 20 miles a day, that makes more plug-in cars suitable for your use without relying on a gasoline engine.

Study your charging options at work. What kind of chargers are available? How are they used? If there is only one and a colleague gets to work early and stays plugged in all day — that won’t do you much good. Does your employer allow workers to go outside during the workday to connect and disconnect from the chargers?

Are there chargers available along your route? If you shop a few days a week on your way home from work, you might be able to plug in while you’re inside and extend your range. Plug-in hybrids usually have small batteries that require less time to charge than the battery in an all-electric car. A little planning could go a long way in helping you decide which plug-in car is best suited to your needs and budget.

How Efficient Is That Plug-in After The Engine Starts?

If your driving needs mean that you will be using the gasoline engine in your plug-in hybrid regularly, it is important to know how efficient it is once battery power is depleted. The Prius Prime gets 54 miles per gallon, making it one of the most efficient cars on the road. It is rated by the EPA at 133 MPGe. The higher the number, the better. By comparison, the Chevy Volt is rated at 42 mpg and has an MPGe rating of 106, which means it will burn more gasoline than the Prius Prime once the engine kicks in. The EPA has a very useful tool that lists the efficiency ratings of all plug-in cars. Once again, it may be worthy of a bookmark if you are in the market for a plug-in car and want to compare one to another.

There is no substitute for a test drive. Some gas-powered range-extender engines may be noisy during operation, which can be annoying after enjoying the quietness of all-electric driving. In my own experience, the engine in the Chevy Volt is almost impossible to detect when it is running.

Choose The Car That Fits Your Lifestyle

Don’t get caught up in statistics. Things like interior room, number of passengers, and how the car feels to drive are still important. Some may like higher seats or need 7 passenger versatility. A car that goes 100 miles on a single charge is no good if it’s uncomfortable or doesn’t satisfy your needs. Take into account factors like price, handling, and cargo capacity. Connectivity is becoming an increasingly important consideration for many drivers. Do you need wireless cell phone chargers, extra cup holders, or a rear-seat screen for children to watch? Are the controls laid out intelligently and do they operate intuitively?

In the end, buying a plug-in hybrid is a commitment to a lifestyle. Hopefully, this plug-in hybrid guide will be useful to you. Do your research, test drive all the cars that fit your requirements, then relax and enjoy the fact that you have made a choice that will help reduce pollution from fossil fuels. Good for  you!

Source: Plug In Cars | Photo by the author

Obama, States Agree To Increase EV Charging Infrastructure

Ask most people what is holding back the electric car revolution and they will tell you it is a lack of EV charging infrastructure. Confusion about how charging stations work is a close second. Recently, Alex Davis wrote an long and sometimes amusing piece for Wired that focuses on the difficulties he encountered finding places to charge the Nissan LEAF he borrowed for week long test drive.

He begins by explaining why an EV is fundamentally different from a car with an internal combustion engine. It’s more like a smartphone. Use it, plug it in overnight, use it again the next day. He calls it the “grazing versus gorging” model. Which is all well and good if you have a place to plug your EV in overnight. Davis lives in an apartment building in San Francisco and so he was totally dependent on public chargers. That’s where his problems began.

When he needed to recharge, the navigation system directed him to a facility that was no longer functional. Precious miles were wasted driving to the closed location, which only made his need to find a working charger more critical. Next, he drove to a hospital parking lot, spent ten minutes driving around but could not locate the charger that was supposed to be there.

Ah hah! There’s a charger at a nearby mall according to his smartphone app. Except this charger is not part of the ChargePoint network that his borrowed LEAF is linked to. Frustrating minutes leak by while he struggles to set up an account so he can access the charger. Fortunately, it’s not raining. After establishing an account, he plugs in but the car won’t connect to the charger.

Davis spots a ChargePoint location on the other side of the mall, but both chargers are in use. He has to wait 20 minutes for one of them to become available, than another 30 minutes to get enough of a charge to get home. A trip that should have taken an hour took three. Plus, Davis’ nerves are seriously jangled as a result of his travails. That’s why many people want nothing to do with an electric car.

The Obama administration and several states are planning a major push to expand the EV charging infrastructure. Their plan is to create 48 national EV charging networks along 25,000 miles of roads in the US in 35 states. The project has the support of several utility companies, the major charging networks, and several car makers, including including General Motors, BMW, and Nissan.

Money is always a factor in projects like this. In July, the US Energy Department announced that charging facilities are now eligible for up to $4.5 billion in loan guarantees. However, no loans have been made as a result. The big question that needs answering is whether private companies can make money operating charging networks.

At the beginning of the automobile age, gas stations made money for their owners by dispensing gasoline and doing repairs. Today, gas stations rely on attached convenience stores for most of their income. EVs require 30 minutes to an hour of charging time but many are stuck out in the middle of nowhere. People have no access to rest rooms, restaurants, or other businesses to help them pass their time.

Tesla is the only company that seem to have this figured out. It works diligently to put its Supercharger locations where there are rest rooms and restaurants available. In fact, many savvy business people ask Tesla to consider their stores and restaurants when choosing Supercharger locations. Tesla also consciously selects locations where single women will feel comfortable charging at night.

Everybody talks about EV charging infrastructure but few people seem to be doing anything about it. In a world in which there is an app for ordering a pizza, there are few digital assistants with accurate information about where chargers are located, whether or not they are in service, and whether they are in use. They also do not allow a driver to reserve a charging time in advance.

The entire field of EV charging is haphazard, chaotic, confusing, and frustrating. Only Tesla is doing things right. Everyone else is running around chasing their tails. No one knows what the solution will be, but standardization of equipment and charging protocols would be a good start. Interoperability between charging networks will also be a critical feature.

Imagine if a driver pulled into a gas station and was told that he or she could not use the gas pumps for lack of a proper account with that station. That would be stupid, right? So why is it the norm when it comes to EV charging networks? Sometimes it appears Tesla is so successful not because it is so smart but rather because everyone else is so dumb.

Source: Automotive News

Chevy Volt, Form And Function

Day Three with my Chevy Volt was eventful if only because I got a call from Fred Ligouri, Chevrolet’s product specialist in Michigan. He is the person who started the whole “How would you like to drive a Volt for a week?” thing. Fred had read yesterday’s story and wanted to give me some tips on using the regen paddle on the back of the steering wheel on the left. I think he was a little incredulous that I hadn’t figured it out on my own!

The regen paddle is a feature Generation One Volt owners said they wanted. Chevy listened. One of the advantages of the Volt’s electric powertrain is there are no transmission controls needed. The space behind the wheel that would normally be devoted to paddle shifters in today’s ICE cars can be used for other things. The regen paddle goes on the left. The radio volume controls go on the right.

After Fred’s call, I went out for a ride with a neighbor who stopped by in his brandy new Kia Sorrento. By the time he left, I think he was a little sad he hadn’t looked into a Volt before he made his buying decision. Both cars cost about the same money. That test drive gave me a chance to try out the regen paddle. Wow! What a slick piece of engineering it is.

A gentle squeeze on the paddle will bring the car to a virtual standstill from any speed. The longer you squeeze it, the more robust the regenerative braking force becomes. After a few miles to get acclimated to the system, it becomes second nature. I did reach for the headlight stalk a few times by accident, but got the hang of it fairly quickly. Fred tells me that as the deceleration builds, the rear stop lights illuminate automatically to warn drivers following behind that you are slowing.

One thing about the Volt that I like very much is its styling. Beginning at the front, the car has a low, aggressive look. My neighbor called it “taut” and “athletic.” The hood itself is remarkable. It has bulges stamped into it that look like they are intended to direct the air up and over the car to help with aerodynamics.

There is a central tunnel pressed into the front of the roof that expands outward toward the rear of the car. You can almost imagine the aerodynamacists who worked on the Volt sculpting those contours to follow the air flow they could see in the wind tunnel.

I took the Volt over to Walmart in Putnam, Connecticut to pick up a few  items, but it was really an excuse to drive it some more. Cargill Chevrolet is about a mile from the Walmart store. On a whim, I went in and asked the first sales person I found if Cargill had any Volts in inventory. Within minutes he had one painted in Kinetic Blue fired up and ready for me to test drive. The new color is quite handsome and less bright than the blue Chevy used previously.

I used to be in the car business. I know salesmen hate to have tire kickers waste their time. I was very up front with Jason, the salesman I met, about who I was and why I was there. Frankly, I wanted to see for myself if the reports I had heard about clueless, poorly trained sales staff were true.

Jasoh at Cargill Chevrolet in Putnam Connecticut is one Volt salesman who knows his stuff.

I needn’t have worried. Jason was polite, informed, and knowledgeable about the Volt. He told me Cargill Chevrolet has a special training program he needed to pass before being allowed to sell the Volt. He answered all my questions and didn’t seem to mind that I had no active plans to buy a car right away. We left as friends and I will keep his card on hand. I have a feeling there might be a Volt in my future sometime this year. So here’s a shout out to Jason and Cargill Chevrolet. Good on both of ya!

The Volt I sat in just came off the truck on Tuesday. It had yet to be serviced and still had all the plastic protective wrappings on it that prevent damage during shipping. It was a base level model that did not have side blind spot warnings or the forward collision warning sensor that my LTZ level loaner features. The interior was solid dark charcoal and looked a bit austere, especially compared to the high zoot interior on my demonstrator with its leather seats and two tone dash.

Speaking of that dashboard, my wife was put off by the butterscotch segments, while my son in law, who is a trained graphic artist, found the interior color scheme very much too his liking. If I was able to chose, I would probably specify an interior that mixed charcoal and lighter gray pieces.

There is no accounting for taste, of course. I’m sure the colors chosen by Chevrolet were exhaustively test marketed in focus groups. I have a friend who drives a Maserati. It has interior colors that look a lot like the ones in the Volt LTZ.

I am just starting to get comfortable with the car after 3 days behind the wheel. My phone is now synced with the car’s audio system. I have the climate controls mostly figured out. I have adapted to one pedal driving thanks to the regen paddle. I find the cabin is comfortable for my just under 6 foot frame. The ride is supple and well damped.

As I was coming in to the house to write this article, I realized I am going to be sad to see the Volt go next week. It is a car that grows on you, which is something the marketing people need to think hard about. It is not just another car. It is a different kind of car, one that takes some getting used to. Now that I have had a chance to experience it, I am thinking a Volt could absolutely fit my lifestyle. I’m keeping your card handy, Jason. You will be the first one I call when the time is right.

Source: Gas2